Model existence

Takes a first-ever look at modeling to determine why so many of the women who seem to have it all tend to wind up with so little. Psychotherapists Vivian Diller and Jill Muir-Sukenick, both former models, who both practice in New York City; Why depression often affects former models; The psychological makeup of those drawn to the field; Their narcissistic vulnerability. INSETS: What a dish (Bonnie Pfeifer's company, Dishes, Inc.); Shelley Smith, life after Vogue (interview).

By Hara Estroff Marano, published on May 01, 1994

When she gave it up, she recalls, "I went through a time wondering whether I would ever experience the specialness of either being a ballet dancer or a model. But that was balanced by the pleasure of knowing I had a career that would last forever, that I would get better at as I got older."

Muir-Sukenick says it took her years to learn to enjoy her own good looks. "I was a better older model; although successful as a teenage model, I was not as comfortable with it. There's a lot to be enjoyed in modeling. There's nothing like getting paid lots of money for smiling, posing, and traveling. It's a very exciting world.

"What I try to impart to my patients and client agencies is that if you help these women develop, they'll be better models and it will increase business. It will enrich a model's ability to project her enjoyment onto the camera. I think you see that now with Lauren Hutton. At this point, she's much freer to project more than just her image. The viewer gets something back that is realistically based. It's not just a pretty girl on a page."

PHOTOS: Former models Vivian Diller (with her six-year-old daughter, Jordana Jacobs) and Jill Muir-Sukenik.

WHAT A DISH

Bonnie Pfeifer is not content to be just a pretty face. She is adding meaning to modeling in a highly original way. She has created a company--Dishes; Inc.--capitalized on the high visibility of supermodels; she makes them the star attraction at events she organizes to raise funds for children with AIDS.

"They all want to help in some way, but they're not sure how to go about it because they're too busy with their own careers," says Pfeifer. "I put together events and merchandise, such as a Dishes for Pediatric AIDS calendar; all the proceeds go to the children's fund of the Design Industry Foundation for AIDS. For each page, there's a dish, a girl, and a dish, a recipe."

The concept is supermodels and their style of entertaining. "The concept is simple," says Pfeifer. "When models sit in a dressing room or backstage, all we talk about is food--what we ate last night, what we'll make tonight."

SHELLEY SMITH, LIFE AFTER VOGUE

Shelley Smith arrived in New York and quickly landed in Vogue, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, and on the cover of Mademoiselle. A decade later, she shifted from modeling to acting. Now, in her early 40s, she's a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor in California. She talked with PSYCHOLOGY TODAY about life then, now, and in between.

PT: What you do now?

SS: I run an egg-donor program and a surrogacy program I founded three years ago to help infertile couples find alternative ways to get their families. I screen, locate, and psychologically test both egg donors and surrogates for recipient couples. This program is radically different from most others because I understand how frustrating it is not to have any kind of control or choice about an egg donor. Starting the surrogacy program seemed logical to me, after I realized that some people weren't able to carry a child

PT: How did you get there from modeling?

SS: I came out to California to do a television series; I was about 30. Four and a half years ago I gave birth to my son, Justin, who had a very serious genetic disease. He survived only three days; it was devastating. When I lost my son, I thought the best way for me to heal would be to help others. I had a bunch of series that never aired; I could see the writing on the wall. Aging in that career is not too easy.

I went back to school to get my master's, and while in school, I organized a support program at the Cedars Sinai Hospital for couples who had experienced neonatal death. My husband and I had very strong intentions to have another baby, and we began to experience infertility. I realized through my own infertility experience that I could help others.

PT: You already had a college degree.

SS: I went through college before I started my modeling career. I started later and had more education than most models.

PT: Did that protect you in any way?

SS: If I had started modeling at 17, I would not have made choices or decisions as maturely as I did at 21--not that I was real mature at 21. I started modeling in Europe in the 1970s. There were a lot of drugs around. I had a little more maturity to resist the life-style that's sometimes tempting in that world.

PT: Are there forces in the modeling world that keep you focused on things that are not necessarily good for yourself?

SS: You're told from the minute you start that what you look like is where your value is, and when you start really young, it's hard to bring value back inside, as to your worth. I always felt that a lot of my success had to do with my attitude. I was punctual, polite, funny--I hope--and I would get the job done. When I came to New York after six months in Europe, I was lucky. I remember vividly that Eileen Ford, my agent, told me: "Don't ever tell anybody how old you are."

PT: All of 21?

SS: Exactly. Don't tell anybody you've gone through college. And lie about your age. Twenty-one was too old to start.

PT: What does that do to someone?

SS: I've had two careers in which you lie about your age. It's not an accident that I'm in a profession where I'm allowed to age and, in fact, respected more for it.