Molly Sims has made a career out of defying expectations. Although she was told early on that she didn’t fit the modeling industry’s narrow body ideal, the Kentucky native, 53, found success during the height of the “heroin chic” era, gracing the coveted pages of fashion magazines like French Vogue and landing deals with major brands, including Old Navy and CoverGirl. She proved she was more than just a pretty face, hosting MTV’s House of Style before landing a lead role on the hit NBC series Las Vegas for its five-season run.
Everything she’s accomplished has happened on her own timeline, both professionally and personally. She married film exec Scott Stuber in 2011 and welcomed her first child, son Brooks, at age 39. (She and Stuber, 57, are also parents to daughter Scarlett, 11, and son Grey, 9.) “I had kids later in life. [I was] told [I] might not find [my] person and that I was going to be too old to have children,” Sims tells Us. “We get a lot tossed at us, and it feeds into feeling stuck.”
She launched her popular podcast, ‘Lipstick on the Rim’, in 2021 and debuted her YISE Beauty line two years later. “Age can’t define your ambitions,” says Sims, who appeared in the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (wearing a string bikini!) and slayed its star-studded runway show in May. “We put a lot of labels on Gen Alpha, Gen Z, Gen X, and I wish women who are 45-plus would embrace where they are,” she adds. “We tend to look backwards or forwards, but [it’s about] enjoying the moment and knowing you have a new chapter at any age.”
It sounds like you’re in an amazing chapter of your life.
We think that first chapter is everything. And then you realize [that’s not the case], especially with my story and journey from [growing up in] Murray, Kentucky, to [studying pre-law at] Vanderbilt University to modeling to Sports Illustrated. Oh boy, there’s [always] a lot more chapters.
How would you describe this one?
It’s a great time in my life because of all the things I’ve gone through — the rejection and years of noes turning into yeses. I’m not as worried now. Motherhood, becoming a founder, being in front of people doing live shows [built up my resilience].
Many women of a certain age go through a bit of an identity crisis. Did you ever go through that?
In my late 30s, early 40s, I had just met my prince, and I was this “no makeup” model and then I gained 86 pounds [while pregnant with Brooks] and had massive hyperpigmentation and melasma. [But] I knew who I was at that point. All the years of living in Europe, I learned. I went to school, and I learned French and [how to] dress. When you have kids and you’re in charge of, like, three souls, that’s an added thing. But there’s no straight line. My career path has never been [a] straight [line], ever.
That’s what makes it fun.
I’m like a cat. I have a lot of lives. When someone tells me no, it lights a fire. Early in my modeling, I was told I was too fat, too thin, too blonde, too tall, too short. I didn’t know my nose was crooked until I was 21. There’s not a lot that can ruffle my feathers [now].
Did the scrutiny ever bother you?
It was devastating. I went from Vanderbilt with my sorority sisters, where you’re dipping your fries in a Wendy’s Frosty and you think nothing of it. I grew up in a very small [town]. I came in during a difficult era called “heroin chic.” [The look] was about 20 pounds underweight and very goth. I was from a completely different world, and also the business had changed. [The] beautiful, normal body weight was not [in style] when I entered, and it gave me a lot of pause and a lot of tears.
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Did you try any extreme measures to fit in?
I’ve done every diet — the grapefruit diet, Atkins. There’s not one thing I didn’t do. The amount of rice cakes one could consume was daunting; [everything was] low-fat and fat-free. [Growing up,] my mother never talked about weight. Then to have your entire world [based on] what you look like… modeling was incredible for me — the travel, the exposure, I would not be where I am without it — but it was a lot to navigate.
It must’ve been tough to stay grounded.
I can’t imagine someone starting modeling at 14. I went to Vanderbilt for two years, I went to my prom and had two very solid parents. Of course I wanted to come home; my phone bill was, like, $1,200, and I thought my parents were going to kill me, but my mom would say, “[Give it] one more week.”
Your mom [who passed away in 2020] was instrumental in your career.
She was a profound presence in my life. [Starts tearing up.] I would not have made it without her. She was [there] in some of my lowest moments, trying to deal with the weight [stuff]. I was told that I was never going to make it, that I was never going to be a model.
What was it like being so young and out of your element?
I was living in Camden [in London]. I was so lonely. I had a Murphy bed. It was so bad. I met a girl, and I moved in with her and two firemen for two years. She dated one fireman, and I dated the other because that’s what you did. It was hard times; you couldn’t live in New York because you couldn’t get the tear sheets. When you go to Europe, you can do Greece, Spain, France and there’s so many more opportunities to build a portfolio.
You were determined.
I wasn’t the prettiest or the thinnest, but I was a worker. I could grind. I’d [take the] Concorde and start working in Paris in the morning and then New York in the afternoon. It was crazy. They were like, “We want you to meet this woman from Sports Illustrated,” and then they said, “There’s this thing [called] House of Style.” [There was also] CoverGirl. It all changed.
That’s when it started clicking?
I‘d say, “Only at Old Navy” [in commercials], and having those four words, for some reason they thought I could talk [on TV]. I took a month off for an acting intensive in Europe and L.A. I took, like, 77 red-eyes over two years, and then I auditioned for Las Vegas to play Jimmy Caan’s daughter, and they were like, “Don’t worry, it’s never going to go [on the air], just do the audition for the pilot.” Then the pilot gets picked up and they tell me I’m recurring. Then [they say], “They want you as a series regular.” Every time I’m like, “I can’t do this,” [people are like,] “Just do it for a little while.” It lasted almost five years.
You came up with models like Tyra Banks and Rebecca Romijn. Did you guys all have a bond?
The through line with all of us is that we worked really hard. We were good girls. We were like, “Is this really happening?” Most of the girls didn’t just stay in modeling; they wanted to expand. The best thing about me is that I’m curious. I don’t always think I can do [something], but I’m like, “Let me find out.”
What advice do you give to young people trying to get their start?
When I’m mentoring young girls, [I tell them,] “You don’t have to have it all figured out at 20 or even at 30.” I’ve always had my insurance policies; I see life six months ahead. My publicist will be like, “Oh, I’ve got this great opportunity,” and then say, “Oh, someone else got it.” You can’t fully count on [things] in my business. [It’s like the 2025 movie] Jay Kelly, we always feel like it’s going to be over, or, now even more, [that] you’re going to be canceled. It’s a lot of pressure. Because my success did not come overnight, I have a very thick skin. I also don’t look at it like one thing will define me. If a movie doesn’t work, if a product doesn’t work, [I’m] moving on. This is where my friends sometimes struggle. You [can] go down, but you can’t stay down. You have to come back up. You have to figure it out. There’s nothing worse in life than being in neutral.
Tell Us about your husband, Scott.
When I met [him], I was like, “You’re an executive, you wear a suit.” That was a little odd. He’d be like, “Let’s go on a date two weeks from now,” and I’d be like, “I don’t know where I’m going to be in two weeks, but OK, call me.”
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How did you guys meet?
My best friend was trying to get into a Golden Globes party at the Sunset Tower. I got her in, and [then I] was like, “I’m leaving. I’m so tired.” I was standing by the bathroom [and] he was standing there, and you know, in Hollywood, you’re always like, “How’s it going? Everything’s amazing,” even though it could be s**t. I don’t know if I said, “Call my agent,” or whatever. He said, “I have a lot going on, what are you doing?” Sure enough, [my agent] called me, and she’s like, “Scott Stuber wants a meeting.”
So you went on a date?
We ended up meeting, then he was in something, and I was getting out of something. I had gotten dumped really badly, and then I was in a really torturous relationship for, like, three and a half years. I needed to figure out who I was. So he asked me out for an entire year. He was persistent, and then, you know, [there were some] fun actor boys during that time, [but Scott] was like, “Just one drink,” and I said, “OK,” and that was it. Three babies later [here we are]…
Had you always wanted children?
When I was shooting Las Vegas and playing pregnant, something hit me. I never wanted children really young. But then [around age] 35, I woke up and was like, “I want a family.” I remember seeing Heidi [Klum] on every cover, and I was so jealous. Not about the cover. I was like, “She’s married and has three or four kids,” and that’s when it set in. So I went to see Shahin Ghadir, this amazing fertility doctor.
This was before Scott?
I got into the biggest argument with Dr. Ghadir. He was like, “Maybe we need a sperm donor?” I was like, “What? Do you see this face? Do you not believe that I’m gonna meet someone?” We still laugh about it. He told me I could freeze my eggs but that freezing embryos was the way to go. I [was] 35 and I said I’d give myself until 37. I had met Stuber, and we were a year into dating, and I got into [a big] argument with my publicist. I was like, “I’m gonna tell him, like, I’m doing it,” and she was like, “He’ll break up with you.” I said, “If he’s gonna break up with me, then I can’t marry him anyway.” [The pair froze their embryos.] It was a hard and awkward conversation, but I did it, and we never needed them.
You were ready to go ahead with it alone if needed.
With or without someone, I knew I wanted a family. My whole career, everything came a little later, so I let it.
You wed almost 15 years ago. What’s your secret to a happy marriage?
We’re very good together. We look at money the same way, we look at raising our children the same way. I’m faster with decisions. No two people are at the same [place] every year. Things might be good for one in business, and then it goes the other way. I wanted him to come off the road of being a producer; we were almost three babies in [and he was] traveling for three or six months [at a time]. When he became the head of film at Netflix, we had a newborn, and he got to stay home. [Stuber stepped down from Netflix in 2024.]
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Did you have a support system?
L.A. was hard for me. When I met my husband, his best friends’ kids were 15, 14 and we have a 9-year-old and we’re 90, right? I found it isolating and a little lonely. But I was also the problem because I was the gypsy; I missed weddings and birthdays. [When the kids started] preschool, it was like, “We’re gonna meet every Thursday at 11:30,” and I’m like, “Where the f*** am I gonna be at 11:30 every Thursday?” My life wasn’t like that. I started to feel like I didn’t have a community. I live in the Pacific Palisades [now], which burned down last year, but it’s a great place, and I have a beautiful community here. I have my mom friends and my actor friends and my New York crew.
Do you think women can have it all?
I think I “mom” really hard, and then I play really hard. I don’t think I do both well all the time. If you’re constantly putting expectations on an outcome, you’re never really happy.
You talked about the pressure to be a certain weight during your early modeling days. How are you feeling about your appearance now?
I’m not trying to look like I’m 20, which I think makes a huge difference. I’m just trying to look the best I can at every age. I don’t want to be skinny; I want to be healthy. That’s a big mind shift. I don’t want to be skinny-fat. I’m the girl who [wouldn’t pick up the] two-pound weight at SoulCycle. Now I do HIIT. I lift weights. I’m back to Pilates, and I do Tracy Anderson. Also the difference between me at 20 and me at 53 is that I have an incredible tailor. So if I’m a size 12 or I’m size 4, it doesn’t matter. That’s my secret weapon. Do I still have my hang-ups? Of course. That doesn’t just go away. I’m super broad, and I hate my shoulders and my arms because I was told my entire life, “You’re too muscular.”
What about your face and skin?
I love microneedling with radiofrequency, and I believe in PRP for healing and repair. I also believe in acupuncture and in alcohol — you have to live your life.
Tell Us more about YISE.
YISE really did come out of a problem with having real hyperpigmentation. I was doing all these crazy things with a dermatologist, [like] hydroquinone, and then I decided to take a year off of doing anything to my skin to figure it out. My products are so good because they don’t just do one thing. It took me four years to create a moisturizer. I made Wide Awake [eye cream]. It depuffs, gives you a little bit of color correcting and you’re getting eye benefits for fine lines and wrinkles. Sometimes I think YISE is for the woman who’s too busy for skincare, you know? We really think about and look at how women live.
There seems to be less gatekeeping about beauty maintenance in Hollywood these days.
Early on, other models would help you. Like, “I’m getting shots in my ass,” or “I’m only going to drink grapefruit juice.” Hollywood people would say, “I just drink a lot of water, and I slept eight hours.” I’m like, “No, you f**king didn’t.” I [recently] went to dinner in the Hamptons, and all we did was talk about everybody’s facelift. We’re like, “She looks amazing. She did the upper lip, the lower. She did the CO2.” It’s refreshing for a woman in Kentucky or Ohio to know that it’s not just drinking water and getting a good night’s sleep. You too can be on the peptide.
How would you feel if your daughter wanted to model?
She looked at me the other day and goes, “If this lacrosse and equestrian [stuff] doesn’t work out, do you think I could model?” I didn’t even make eye contact. I’m like, “I don’t know.” We don’t talk about weight. We talk about healthy eating in a very positive way.
You posed for the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and walked its May runway show. How did you gear up for that?
The fact that I said yes was a miracle of God. I’ve always been disciplined, but people in the public eye have that added goal because they’re photographed. So it kind of helped me, especially with my fitness. Am I sick of protein? I’m so sick of chicken, but I still do my shakes and my creatine. Does it work? I don’t know. Maybe! I looked at getting ready in a different way. I’m at a different time in my life. My whole world does not depend on how I look in a bikini — which is a really nice feeling!
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