Before Kim Alexis knew fashion, fashion knew her.
A self-described tomboy planning to study pharmacy, she was pulled from charm school at 17 and asked to model in New York. She said no.
Two days after turning 18, Kim arrived in Manhattan. Within days, she was sent to Rome for the haute couture collections and landed the cover of Italian Bazaar. Within three months came an Elizabeth Arden campaign, followed by hundreds of covers and status as one of the world’s most photographed women. Yet she rarely looked in the mirror.
“I was never really a fusser,” she says. “I was always going to be the natural girl with the braid, outside playing.”
What looked like a dream felt different from within.
“I was just busy. It was work.”
Later, as Good Morning America’s fashion editor, Kim discovered a new passion. “I loved broadcasting more than modeling because I got to talk.”
Since moving to Scottsdale in 2017, she has continued reinventing. At 65, she launched Unexpired, featuring guests including Jay Leno, Kathy Ireland and Roger Clemens. Now 66, the mother of three and grandmother is focused less on preserving an image than passing something forward.
In our September Style Issue, Kim reveals what happened behind the covers, the lessons fame taught her and why she is nowhere near finished.
You never dreamed of becoming a model.
As a little girl, I was into my schoolwork, played clarinet, and was a swimmer.
I never thought about fashion.
Two days after turning 18, you moved to New York.
My first job was in Rome for Italian Bazaar. There was only one cover, and I got it within about four days.
I came back to New York and started working. Within months, I had the cover of Glamour. I had my first national ad for a makeup company within three months, which is unheard of.
It looked as though you were living a dream.
I had come from high school a month before. I would hear from my friends who had gone to college. They were out having fun, having pizza and beer, and I couldn’t. I was worried about my weight.
We didn’t have many tools to understand health. There weren’t tons of health clubs or health food stores. We would talk to other models and try to learn. I remember doing juice fasts and putting different masks on my face.
When your face became a multimillion-dollar business asset, what happened to your private relationship with the mirror?
I never really looked in the mirror much. If I’m putting on my own makeup to go out, it doesn't take more than 10 minutes.
You have said you never felt as though you completely belonged in fashion.
There were a lot of moments that confused me or had me scared or feeling like I didn’t belong.
You had to do a lot of self-analyzing to figure out where you belonged, what you thought and how to survive in the business.
You made friends with the hair and makeup artists.
But this was the beginning of AIDS. In 1979, I lost one of my friends to AIDS, and we didn’t understand it. We were asking, “What did he die of?” We couldn’t figure it out. I don’t even know if they had a name for it. We didn’t understand what to call his death.
It was a very strange time. There was a lot of fear among people who were worried about what would happen next.
Of the hundreds of covers, which one changed the way you saw your career?
The one where I thought I had finally made it was my first American Vogue cover. I did that with Avedon.
When I got that cover, I felt like, “Ah, now I can be taken seriously.”
Then I had three Vogue covers in a row. Brooke Shields and I would trade off quite a bit, but one time I literally had three months in a row.
The industry was built around rejection.
Yes, back then, we had go-sees. Now they’re called castings. You would hand them your book, and sometimes they would look through it, not even look at you and hand it back.
Other people would look at your book, talk to you and ask about the pictures. Guess which bookings I got? The ones who barely looked. They had already made up their minds. The people talking to you felt bad because they knew they weren’t going to give you the job.
I had a bunch of negatives. Sometimes you partied and stayed out too late. The next day, you didn’t look good and might lose a client. I learned that I didn’t like feeling that way. I learned to police myself and decide it wasn’t worth it.
I was not perfect. I had many bad nights, and I would cry myself to sleep. But there is that inner resilience and inner strength that nothing is going to knock me down.
At 27, your exclusive Ultima II contract ended.
I didn’t know what to do with myself because I had been paid not to work. I had been paid to be exclusive with Revlon unless it was editorial.
I couldn’t go backward in modeling and do all the catalog work I had done before.
That led me into broadcasting.
I signed with William Morris, and they sent me on a booking for Good Morning America. At the end of the meeting, the woman said, “So, do you want the job?” I said, “What job?” She said, “Fashion editor of Good Morning America.” I said, “Sure, I’ll try it.”
She said, “Okay, you’re live tomorrow morning.”
Joan Lunden was on maternity leave. When she came back, I went to her and said, “Listen, this is your station. This is your show. I want to learn from you.” She took me under her wing and taught me everything I needed.
I loved broadcasting more than modeling because I got to talk. I enjoyed giving information, inspiring and creating.
What did years at the center of fashion teach you about style?
I realized everyone had their own opinion.
Because I traveled so much, my must-have item was a beautiful Japanese men’s black jacket, almost like a tuxedo jacket. I spent $800 on it and wore it everywhere.
Now, my style is sporty. I have a lot of golf clothes. I’m not a designer girl.
How do you feel about an industry in which a model’s following can matter as much as her face?
The biggest difference is that it is not so much that you get the job because of your face. You get the job because of your followers. If you don’t have a good social media following, you’re not going to get booked.
I’m a little resentful. I was late to the game. I thought social media was something that was going to come and go.
To me, it was a lot of, “Look at me. Here I am. Aren’t I great?” That is not my personality. It was very difficult for me to celebrate something and put it out there. I was a private person.
Social media knocks all those walls down.
I’m old school. I’m going to hold out for the bigger endorsement deals, not the little collaboration deals.
You balanced an extraordinary career while raising three sons.
I always tried to put them first. I knew I was strong and could take care of myself, so I made sure they were fine. If they were fine, then I was fine.
You moved to Arizona after marrying Jeff.
Yes, it is a great God story.
Jeff felt comfortable and safe. I always say wherever he is, that is where home is.
Why did you call your podcast Unexpired?
I love celebrating people and their successes while reminding younger people that a rut is not the end. You may be an undiscovered band, a struggling comedian or simply headed somewhere new.
Instead of retiring, I started a business. I love discovering what drives people to keep going. That is what Unexpired means. I’m not going to lie down and die. I still have something relevant to give.
What is your philosophy on aging?
I don’t know why so many people spend so much time and money on their skin. If you take care of the inside and you eat clean, the texture and tone of your skin work better.
What do you most want young women entering fashion to understand?
Don’t be desperate to get into this business. Always have something else to fall back on. Set healthy boundaries and be able to say no.
How do you define success now?
Being available and being willing to try new things.
instagram.com/the_kimalexis
“Right away, I had the cover of Glamour. I had my first national ad for a makeup company within three months.”
“Then I had three Vogue covers in a row. Brooke Shields and I would trade off quite a bit, but one time I literally had three months in a row.”