Molly Sims on Love, Motherhood, Reinvention: "Age Should Never Limit Ambition"

Model, actress, podcast host, and entrepreneur Molly Sims has proven that age is merely a number. A Kentucky native now aged 53, Sims broke into the fashion industry during the height of the "heroin chic" era, gracing the pages of magazines like French Vogue and landing deals with major brands such as Old Navy and CoverGirl. She defied expectations by hosting MTV's House of Style before securing a lead role on the hit NBC series Las Vegas for five seasons. Every achievement in Sims' life has been a testament to her determination, both personally and professionally. In 2011, she married film executive Scott Stuber and welcomed their first child, son Brooks, at the age of 39 (the couple also shares daughter Scarlett, 11, and son Grey, 9). "I was told I might not find my person and that I'd be too old to have children," Sims tells us. "We get a lot tossed at us, and it feeds into feeling stuck." In 2021, Sims launched her popular podcast Lipstick on the Rim 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 over 45 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." Sims describes this current phase of her life as an amazing time due to all she has overcome — rejection, years of "no's" turning into "yeses," motherhood, becoming a founder, and facing live audiences. "I'm not as worried now," she says. "Motherhood, becoming a founder, being in front of people doing live shows [have built up my resilience]." Many women experience an identity crisis as they age. Did Sims ever go through that? In her late 30s to early 40s, she had just met her partner and gained 86 pounds while pregnant with Brooks, leading to massive hyperpigmentation and melasma. "I knew who I was at that point," she says. "All the years of living in Europe, I learned. I went to school, and I learned French and [how to] dress." Sims' career path has never been linear, with numerous twists and turns along the way. "I'm like a cat. I have a lot of lives," she says. "When someone tells me no, it lights a fire." Early in her modeling career, she was told she was too fat, too thin, too blonde, too tall, or too short. "There's not a lot that can ruffle my feathers now," she adds. Did the scrutiny ever bother Sims? It was devastating. She went from Vanderbilt with her sorority sisters, where she dipped fries in Wendy's Frosties without a care in the world, to modeling during the difficult "heroin chic" era. The ideal body weight was not in style when Sims entered the industry, and it took its toll. Sims tried every diet — the grapefruit diet, Atkins, you name it. She consumed countless rice cakes and lived on low-fat and fat-free foods. "My mother never talked about weight," she says. "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." Staying grounded must have been tough. Sims can't imagine someone starting their modeling career at 14. She went to Vanderbilt for two years, attended her prom, and had 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," she recalls. "My mom would say, 'Give it one more week.'" Sims' mother played a significant role in her career. She was a profound presence in Sims' life, particularly during her lowest moments dealing with the weight criticism. "I wouldn't have made it without her," she says, tearfully. Living in Camden, London, as a young model was tough for Sims. She was lonely and lived in a small apartment with a Murphy bed. She met a girl and moved in with two firemen for two years. "It was hard times," she says. "You couldn't live in New York because you couldn't get the tear sheets." Sims persevered, though, and became determined. She traveled between Paris and New York on the Concorde, working tirelessly to build her portfolio. "They were like, 'We want you to meet this woman from Sports Illustrated,'" she recalls. "Then they said, 'There's this thing [called] House of Style.' [There was also] CoverGirl. It all changed." That's when it started clicking for Sims? "I'd say, 'Only at Old Navy' [in commercials], and having those four words, for some reason they thought I could talk [on TV]," she says. "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.'" The pilot got picked up, and Sims was upgraded from a recurring role to series regular, lasting almost five years. Sims came up alongside models like Tyra Banks and Rebecca Romijn. Did they all bond? "The through line with all of us is that we worked really hard," she says. "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." What advice does Sims give to young people trying to break into the industry? "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,'" she says. "I've always had my insurance policies; I see life six months ahead." Tell us about Scott Stuber, your husband. When Sims met Stuber, she was taken aback by his corporate attire. "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,'" Sims recalls. They met at a Golden Globes party at the Sunset Tower, but Sims was exhausted and ready to leave when she encountered Stuber by the bathroom. After exchanging pleasantries, Stuber asked her out, and they went on their first date shortly after. "Three babies later [here we are]..." Had Sims always wanted children? When she was shooting Las Vegas and playing a pregnant character, something clicked for Sims. She knew she wanted a family but didn't want to have children young. When she met Stuber, they were a year into dating, and she froze their embryos, just in case. "It was a hard and awkward conversation," she says, "but I did it." They never needed the embryos. Sims and Stuber wed nearly 15 years ago. What's your secret to a happy marriage? "We're very good together," Sims says. "We look at money the same way, we look at raising our children the same way." Sims is quicker with decisions, while Stuber tends to be more cautious. Sims found L.A. difficult when she first moved there. She felt isolated and lonely, particularly as her career took off. "L.A. was hard for me," she admits. "When I met my husband, his best friends' kids were 15, 14, and we have a 9-year-old — we're 90, right?" She struggled to find a community in L.A., but things improved when she moved to the Pacific Palisades, which was burned down last year but is now a great place for Sims with her beautiful community. Do you think women can have it all? "I think I 'mom' really hard, and then I play really hard," Sims says. "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." Sims talks openly about the pressure to maintain a certain appearance during her early modeling days. How does she feel about her appearance now? "I'm not trying to look like I'm 20," she says. "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 mindset has helped Sims focus on wellness rather than weight loss, and she maintains her fitness through HIIT workouts, lifting weights, Pilates, and Tracy Anderson training. Sims' face and skin are important to her, so she turns to microneedling with radiofrequency and PRP for healing and repair. She also believes in acupuncture and alcohol — "you have to live your life." Tell us more about YISE, your beauty line. YISE really did come out of a problem with hyperpigmentation. Sims tried everything, including hydroquinone, but decided to take a year off from skincare to figure it out. Her products are designed to multitask, such as the moisturizer she took four years to create. Wide Awake eye cream depuffs, offers color correction, and provides eye benefits for fine lines and wrinkles. "Sometimes I think YISE is for the woman who's too busy for skincare," Sims says. There seems to be less gatekeeping about beauty maintenance in Hollywood these days. Early on, models would help each other keep secrets about diets, workouts, and cosmetic procedures. Now, Sims says, people are more open about discussing facelifts, lip fillers, and peptides. "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," she says. "You too can be on the peptide." If Sims' daughter wanted to model, would she support her? "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?'" Sims says. "I didn't even make eye contact." She's still thinking about it. "We don't talk about weight," she explains. "We talk about healthy eating in a very positive way." Sims posed for the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and walked its May runway show. How did she prepare for that? "The fact that I said yes was a miracle of God," she says. "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." Sims focused on her fitness and health rather than trying to look a certain way. "Am I sick of protein? I'm so sick of chicken," she says. "But I still do my shakes and my creatine." Does it work? "I don't know," she laughs. "Maybe!" For more on Molly Sims, check out the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly.