No granny panties here. At 71, model Marie Helvin is entering a new chapter in her career, and she’s doing so in some seriously sexy lingerie. For her latest appearance, the model stripped down for Valentine’s Day with intimate wear brand, Bluebella. “I think like any woman, I want to wear something beautiful and sensual,” Helvin tells PEOPLE. “Just because you’re 70 doesn’t mean you stop wearing underwear and then you’re going to wear big pants.” people surprised that she accepted the job. “I just don’t see any problem with that. Yes, I’m 71, but I love underwear. I love buying it. I love wearing it. So do all my friends of the same age. I don’t think age has anything to do with it,” she says. .
Marie Helvin for Bluebella.
Courtesy of Bluebelle
Although Helvin has decades of experience in front of the camera, this particular shoot was among her most significant as it marked her first time posing since being diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in 2022. Soon after, she underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction.
“It really taught me that what you think is fair, what you think you have, isn’t always the real truth,” Helvin, whose mother also had breast cancer, says of her diagnosis. “I thought I was the healthiest person. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I’m in the gym every day. I don’t eat meat. I’m running. And that happened to me.” Although she is considered “lucky” because she does not need chemotherapy and radiation therapy, she is still undergoing five years of tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) taken after surgery to reduce the risk of early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back.
Bluebella initially approached the model around the same time she was diagnosed, and Helvin asked that they come back to her in a year. While posing almost naked might seem like a scary way to get back into the modeling game, Helvin wasn’t fazed. “I’m a model. This is my job. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been really good at. So I know what I’m doing.”
Marie Helvin for Bluebella.
Courtesy of Bluebelle
She channels her confidence from the “best time of her life,” which she describes as “a time of great sex, of feeling sensual, of being in love.” Not only was shooting the campaign an empowering experience for Helvin, it was also a reflective one.
She recalls fond memories of her mother dressed in her “flowy” green negligee that she had reserved especially for Christmas morning. “It’s just a nice warm feeling of remembering my mom and kind of honoring her,” Helvin says. She now has her own underwear ritual: she buys something for herself “wherever” in the world. And thanks to Bluebella, she also has a new supply of items to add to her collection. Her current favorite is the deep black bodysuit with sheer edges that she modeled on set.
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Marie Helvin for Bluebella.
Courtesy of Bluebelle
And these pieces are not only for special occasions. “Whenever I have to go to the oncologist, that’s what I want to wear under my clothes,” she reveals. “I just feel a lot better.”
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Marie Helvin for Bluebella.
Courtesy of Bluebelle
As he takes on new projects, including a cameo in an upcoming Netflix show, nerd, Helvin is also still recovering. Her journey to recovery has inspired her to encourage other women to take care of their bodies and get regular checkups.
Stars who faced breast cancer and shared their stories
Marie Helvin for Bluebella.
Courtesy of Bluebelle
It also focuses on practicing gratitude. “Self-love is also kindness. He is not only kind to himself, but also to others around him. Show a little humility, a little kindness.”
On the trail of this campaign, Helvina aims to maintain her momentum as a model. “I’m not ready to retire yet,” she says. “So I need and want and hope to continue as long as possible.”
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Source: HIS Education