In Authentically Aging, ESSENCE sits down with trailblazing Black women over 40 to discuss how they nurture their radiance. Each interview explores the sacred beauty rituals, unapologetic style, and evolved wellness philosophies that define their current life chapters. Each iteration reminds us that aging is all about stepping into your full, brilliant light.
If nothing else, legendary super model Pat Cleveland wants you to know, “if there’s no glamour, there’s no life.” Although we’re speaking through a screen, she’s as vibrant as a fresh garden in late April. “Even a flower will bloom in the middle of a mess,” Cleveland—who is known for revolutionizing runway modeling with twirls and dancing—adds during our Zoom call. The Andy Warhol muse and ESSENCE 1982 cover star continues, “that’s me. I’m a flower growing through the crack of chaos.”
In the ’60s, for example, she recalls being in High school. “It was all about no makeup, lots of raggedy jeans,” she says with a laugh. “But it was all about freedom and natural hair,” Cleveland expresses, adding that her mother had a freak-out when she stopped pulling hers back into a chignon and “went wild.” It was around this time that Cleveland was making her own clothing and also was discovered by a Vogue editor. “That’s when I learned the power of caring for yourself and being attentive to beauty,” she says.
By the time she was 16, she was in Fashion Fair, Ebony, and more. “We didn’t have makeup that matched the color of our skin. We had to mix brown eyeshadow with the foundation,” she adds. She also recalls her mother cutting off the edge of her hair. “And she made eyelashes out of my hair by taking nail polish and putting them on the edge of your eyelashes.”
Overall, Cleveland’s beauty philosophy has always been to play. “I’ve cut my hair so many times. I’ve been a blonde, a redhead… I’ve been every kind of head you can imagine.” Now she says to herself, “You did it all. Now let’s see who you really are.” In other words, “I’m growing out my hair.”
When she looks back on her life, the biggest confidence lesson she’s learned lies in trying to find at least one good thing about yourself to focus on, if nothing else is going right. “What I love about myself is that I’ve always taken my lessons and used them as stepping stones to get to a better thing.”
Below, the legendary supermodel details her early beauty and fashion memories, current beauty philosophies, and what self-care at 75 really means.
Her Relationship To Beauty & Fashion Growing Up:
My mother was very good at making clothes and so was I. Window shopping and dressing up were the spices of life for us. Of course, we didn’t buy everything. We went home and made it. And I think dressing up opens doors and it gives you dignity.
I remember, as a child, wearing very pretty pinafores with lots of petticoats underneath. I learned at home that glamour is part of life. And the first thing that happened to me is I was like, “No, no, no makeup for me.” But my mother said, “If you don’t put some makeup on, you’re going to be an old maid.” Now that was the attitude in the ’50s.
Women had to look good to get married or woo a gentleman in her direction. So you had to dress nice and look perfect and everything. Oh, well, that all went down the drain later. The ’50s were all about dressing up: little white gloves, patent leather shoes. I come from the Sunday school era. But I learned, every day was Sunday back then. If you were in that particular time, women dressed up to travel, and to do everything. And I assume that’s how women are supposed to be.
Early Hair Memories:
I had this Puerto Rican girlfriend and she would say, “I’m coming over. I’m going to teach you how to iron your hair.” If they were a little bit older, Black and Puertorican women used to set their hair in soda cans and beer cans on their head and they’d cover it with a scarf. They would run around like that all week. They were preparing for the weekend. And when that hair came out, it was so slick and shiny, so good.
But before all of that ironing stuff, we had these hot combs that you put on the stove to straighten your hair or curl it. And they would burn your face and burn your hair, much like the curling irons we have now, but you had to put it on the stove. At the time, beauty was all about keeping your hair shiny and maintained until the Afro trend came.
The Start of Her Modeling Career:
I was on 42nd Street in New York, going across town where I did not belong. This lady was following me. And she said, with a British accent, “Oh, I love the way you’re dressed.” And I said, “Well, who are you?” She said, “Here’s my card.” She was from Vogue. She said, “I’m going to write an article about you.” Around that time, I remember I bought my first pair of go-go boots and I would go out every night to The Cheetah for the teenage weekend line dancing. I was making clothes for myself. I remember making this really mini skirt, before they were in. Because, when you’re dancing, you don’t want anything holding you back. Basically, I was discovered as a model because of my creativity and ability to make my own things.
Eventually, my first campaign was for Duke hair products, a product line from Johnson Publishing, which was like this heavy grease that you would put in the hair and slicked it back. It’s still out there, I think. But it was good.
Makeup and Modeling:
We didn’t have makeup that matched the color of our skin back in the day. We had to mix brown eyeshadow with the foundation. We basically had to invent our own makeup. I also remember my mom would cut off the edge of my hair. And you know what she did? She made eyelashes out of my hair. She would take nail polish to clump the hairs together. Then, we’d stick each hair onto the edge of our eyelashes.
Her Advice To Her Younger Self:
I would say, the most important thing is to take care of your hair and your skin and have good thoughts about yourself. And to not rush anything. That’s really important. Move one step at a time. Figure out what makes you feel good about yourself.
Try to find one good thing, if you’re not feeling confident, that you love. And the one thing I loved about myself, I think when I was 12 or 13 years old, was the fact that I could transform, I could change.
The Beauty Lessons As She Graces Her 70s:
I think being 70 is a number, first of all. And I had gone through some really physical transformation when I had cancer six years ago. I had colon cancer. 12 rounds of chemo. I almost died. Now, I have no colon.
I remember I was in Paris and I was going to do a show and I was like 69 or 68. And I just swelled up like a watermelon. I had a show the next day. I called my friend and said, “I can’t get into my clothes.” She said, “Call the doctor, call the doctor.” I went to the American hospital. I had an emergency operation. I would’ve died.
I would’ve had to have a colostomy bag or something. I said to the doctor, “I can’t have a bag. I’m a model.” So, for me, I think being in my 70s is a miracle because half the people that I loved have left the planet. And there’ve been two pandemics. One was AIDS and the second was Covid. I’ve been through two of them and I’ve seen racism and terrible things.
And in my 70s, I can look back and say, “Well, float like a lotus and let the dead leaves fall off and just keep blooming into my 70s.” In five years I’ll be 80 and then I’ll be 90 and then I’ll be 100 and 120. Little wrinkles here and there. l buy creams and put them on, but I don’t believe in cutting yourself open and doing cosmetic surgeries like that. I’m not into that. The important thing is to know when to sleep and relax.
Her current beauty and wellness philosophy:
I travel a great deal. And people say, “How do you get the energy?” I catnap. When I’m tired, I say, “I’ll see you later,” curl up in a ball, and just take a little nap.
I’ve also always been self-employed, so I don’t have to really answer to anybody’s call. I mean, I do my work in a season and I’m on a time schedule. It’s very intense. But it’s seasonal. I’m like the birds who fly in and then fly out with the jet-setters. I don’t have to do anything.
But I think the key is waking up with purpose. Some people do it by running or going to the gym. Some people do it in their own way, but I have this room in my house where I have it all set up. Nobody’s coming in here when I’m here. I can do what I want. Just create. And I go to sleep thinking about it and I wake up inspired.
