On January 1, 2026, supermodel Paulina Porizkova took to her Instagram to share details with fans of her momentous year. The theme centered on love: for family, her career, her partner, and, most of all, for herself.
“What a year I’ve had,” the “Dancing With the Stars,” Season 4 celebrity began her post. “A renewal. I signed back on with my parent company, [Estée Lauder], but this time, on my terms. It has been the best modeling time I’ve ever had — at sixty!”
Porizkova’s post continued, revealing everything that impacted her throughout the year, both good and bad. Included were a series of photos documenting it all.
From $6 Million Debut to Authenticity Advocate: Porizkova’s Second Act at Estée Lauder
Part of what made her return to Estée Lauder notable is that, when she first signed on with the company in 1988, it was for $6 million—the most the cosmetics brand had ever paid a model at that time. Thirty years later, she’s back, but with a new mission: to change the way women look at aging.
“What I am attracted to is authenticity,” she told “TODAY” after signing her contract with Estée Lauder at the beginning of the year. “Is to see women who put out who they really are—the good parts of life, the bad parts of life.”
Her attraction to authenticity is also what led her to her fiancé, Jeff Greenstein. In August 2025, she posted on Instagram that what she “had thought as love — the butterflies — were, in fact, cockroaches.” But only when she began looking for an equal who possessed traits she desired in a partner did she find Greenstein. And his family, as well.
“Just so much love,” she wrote. “From my immediate family which includes my stepsons (one soon to be) and my step grandkids and my daughters-in-law, and my soon to be sister and brothers in law…”
Porizkova Remembers Dear Friend Who Passed Away
Along with the spectacular events of her year, such as a starring role in “Bardotky,” Porizkova revealed the most challenging event: the death of her friend, Mistie Savage-McGuire, who passed away in September.
“She was not ready to go, and she gave it her all,” she said tearfully at the time. “Boy, I’ve rarely seen anyone with that much courage.”
The two met on Instagram in 2021. At the time, Porizkova was dealing with the death of her estranged husband, Ric Ocasek, and the discovery that he’d left her out of his will. Savage-McGuire had recently discovered she had colorectal cancer. In their mutual despair, the two bonded.
“Here was someone in a much more difficult position than I was, and she was offering empathy,” Porizkova told the Washington Post. “Everybody in my life was telling me you’ll get over it. You’ll be fine. You’ll snap out of it, you always have. But Mistie was the one rare person who, while having her own serious issues, could actually empathize. And I just thought that was extraordinary.”
