Her career took off and she went global, appearing in her burlesque show all over the U.S. and Europe and even appearing on the cover of Playboy. People loved her and wanted to be her because she was different, she was sexy in her own way. “I could never relate to mainstream notions of beauty and sensuality, like the models in the Victoria’s Secret catalog,” she says. Her cup of tea was always ultra-feminization. “I was always really into ultra-feminization—it gave me glamour and the feeling that when I walked into a room, people wanted to know who I was; and they still do now that I’m 44.”
She is proud of her age and to be doing what she loves for over 25 years. “I remember doing an interview with a German journalist when I was in my mid-30s, and she asked me, ‘What will you do when you get old and you lose your beauty and are not interesting anymore?’ That question struck a nerve. Maybe it was lost in translation, but still. Then I thought about how the concepts of perfect beauty and talent were—and still are—uninteresting to me.”Embed from Getty Images
Von Teese has the same insecurities about growing old that anybody else does. But, she looks up to other women that are older than her and that are doing what they love and who have no time for critics. “Anytime I question myself, like, ‘Should I really be on tour, doing my burlesque show again in my 40s?’ I recall Mamie and her wonderful spirit. Or I’ll see a video of J. Lo doing backflips in a G-string onstage in Vegas and think about how she’s a few years older than me and up there in lingerie, looking amazing. I truly do believe that we need to see and experience beauty and sensuality at all phases of life.”
“I hate it when people say, ‘You look good for your age.’ It should be, ‘You look good.’ Period. Getting older is a good thing.”
