BAZAAR

ESTHER WOJCICKI: I must congratulate you on your recent70 th birthday. How are you feeling about this milestone?MAYE MUSK: I had been looking forward to it because I feellike things are really going to take of in my 70s. How oldare you?EW: I’m 72.MM: I’m younger than you.EW: Yes, so much younger. Your modelling career is seriouslyamazing.MM: It is amazing! I was always just a working model withthree kids. Nobody knew who I was, but it didn’t matter.Now I’m an inluencer, so I get to do interviews and use themas a platform to talk about nutrition and go on glamorousfashion shoots like this one for Harper’s Bazaar. It’s beyond.EW: That makes me feel very good too. Any tips for aspiringmodels of any age?MM: I’ve always had my own business as a dietician, so I eatwell. You must maintain a steady weight, especially at our age,as the cholesterol starts to shoot up.EW: I’m really impressed with that part of your life. Tell memore about your diet.MM: I eat the basic food groups: Fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, low-fat dairy, good fats, and oils. I do have butter onmy bread because it’s delicious. I eat meat, especially chicken,sparingly, because I’m not a good cook. People always wantto know what I fed my kids. I gave them real food, not frozenpizza. In 45 years of counselling, I can tell you one thing forsure: People don’t gain weight from whole wheat; they gainit from fries and white bread.EW: Any guilty pleasures?MM: You’ll never see chocolate, cookies, or candy in my homebecause I don’t have a cutof.EW: What about your beauty routine? How do you alwayslook so good? Maybe you can help me.MM: I eat well to keep my skin looking good, and I stay out ofthe sun. I put on SPF if I’m going outside, even with a hat on.``````I always have moisturiser on my face and lip balm because mylips get dry.EW: Do you exercise on a regular basis?MM: I’m not good at sports, but I do exercise because we haveto move. Besides walking my dog four times a day, I go to thegym and do 30 minutes on a stationary bike while reading abook because I get bored, then 10 minutes of weights and10 of stretches.EW: Your style is impeccable; I noticed that when I irst metyou. Where did you get your fashion sense from?MM: I moved from South Africa, where I grew up, to Toronto,about 28 years ago. I was living in a rent-controlled apartmentwith my three teenagers when I met my best friend,Julia Perry, who happens to be a stylist. At the time I thoughtI had good taste. But one day she came over and said,“You need to start dressing better,” and threw everything outof my wardrobe except for six outits. I could only aford tobuy one new suit, two shirts, a pair of shoes, and a bag. I worethat every day until I could aford more.EW: I could use a stylist. Like me, you have three amazing,wildly successful children. Can you describe your relationship?MM: We laugh a lot, and we get together often.EW: What about your mothering style?MM: I worked from home while they were growing up, so Itook them to school and picked them up. They had to do theirown homework, and if they needed me they could interruptme, but they never did. They were good kids. I’m intolerantof bad manners, so they are always polite around me, even now.EW: It sounds like you’re the opposite of a helicopter mother:You gave your children a lot of freedom to be what theywanted to be.MM: Yes, I had to work very hard, and they were always going intheir own direction. My three kids got their Canadian citizenshipbecause I was born there, and Elon decided to move to Canadafor college. Then my teenage daughter said, “Let’s go too.” It wastough at irst because all my friends were back in South Africa. FASHION EDITOR:``````CASSIE ANDERSON. MAKEUP: TONYA BREWER. HAIR: PETER SAVIC FOR L‘ANZA. PRODUCTION: ANDY CRUM FOR OPUS REPS.BazaarBEAUTYMaye Musk: CoverGirl model, dietician, and mother of Tesla founderElon Musk, chats with Esther Wojcicki, mother of YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki,about life in their 70s, raising trailblazing children, and moving to MarsTHE FORCE BE WITH YOU###### MAYEOn Musk: Dress, Stella McCartney. Earrings, Tifany & Co. All prices upon request.``````Photographs by DENNIS LEUPOLD