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I ADMIT IT. Like most women, I struggle with weight, body image, and self-esteem. So the prospect of interviewing former supermodel Kim Alexis was a bit daunting. After all, before there was Cindy Crawford, there was Kim, who dominated the modeling industry in the '80s. She's considered one of the most beautiful women in the world—and she's certainly been one of the most photographed. Kim's graced more than 500 magazine covers, including Vogue and Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions, and was a spokesperson for Revlon for three years. She's appeared on several TV shows and movies, including an NBC movie of the week, Perry Mason: The Case of the Wicked Wives. Kim's also worked as fashion editor on ABC's Good Morning America, as fitness/nutrition correspondent on The 700 Club, and has hosted several TV shows, including Healthy Kids, Ticket to Adventure with Kim Alexis, and Your Mind & Body. She's served as a spokeswoman for Alpine Lace low-fat and non-fat cheese and Citrimax, a natural weight-loss ingredient—and now Monostat.TM
To the casual observer, Kim, 39 this month, appears to have it all: an exciting career, a close-knit family, a beautiful face, and a thin, healthy-looking 5'10" body. No wonder I held in my breath—as well as my gut—when we met at a Ritz Carlton close to her home. Yet I was pleasantly surprised—and relieved—to discover Kim looks like your average working woman and mom. And she'd be the first to tell you that despite the glamour and fame of her international modeling career, that world took a toll on her self-esteem and her relationships.
Kim Alexis grew up in the small town of Lockport, New York, outside Buffalo. In high school she excelled on the swim team and in band. In 1978, while enrolled in a local modeling school during her senior year, Kim was "discovered" by John Casablancas, owner of the famous Elite modeling agency, when someone from the school sent him her photo. Casablancas offered to sign her to his agency, but initially, Kim turned him down; she was planning a career in pharmacology. But after discussing her options with her family, she decided to move to New York City after graduation to earn some money for college. Within four days of arriving in the Big Apple, Kim landed her first professional assignment—the cover of Italian Bazaar. Kim flew to Rome to be photographed, and thus began her amazing career—and her introduction to the dark side of modeling.
"The people in this business can be harsh," says Kim. "I was in over my head." During that first job Kim was told she'd have to sleep with the owner of the magazine if she expected to be on the cover. She didn't, but being naive, she didn't understand exactly what that meant. She soon would. Kim was surrounded by destructive, immoral behavior in the modeling arena, from promiscuity to drug use.
"I was incredibly lonely," Kim says. "That was one of my hardest experiences." Kim went from attending church regularly to putting God on a back burner. "God wasn't a big part of my life, and I made some choices of which I'm not proud."
In 1983, Kim married real estate developer Jim Stockton and had two sons, Jamie, now 13, and Bobby, now 10. But marital problems, including spiritual incompatabilities, caused the marriage to unravel, and in 1991, after several separations, reconciliations, and pastoral counseling, Kim and Jim reluctantly divorced. A couple years later, Kim met and married former NHL New York Rangers hockey star, Ron Duguay, 42, and had a third son, Noah, now 5. Adding Ron's two daughters from a previous marriage—Amber, 15, and Shay, 11—makes 5 children in the Duguay household.
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