Elle Macpherson
Andrew Macpherson
Thanks to her incredible figure, Elle Macpherson long ago became known by the nickname "The Body."Now 47, the legendary supermodel shows she's still sexy after all these years, frolicking on the beach in Malibu wearing nothing more than her signature triangle bikini for a PEOPLE photo shoot (her first swimsuit session in six years). Watch video of the model in action on the set of her shoot below.
While the mother of two says her killer curves are the product of a clean diet, daily exercise and good genes – and not the surgeon's knife – she admits that even she is not immune to the body blahs.
"I do get jitters," says the Australian model, who turns 48 on March 29. "I was comfortable [at the shoot]. But I had to get my self-conscious 'maybe I don't look my best' head out of the way and go with, 'Let's celebrate where I'm at.' "
Continues Macpherson: "I know it's not as easy as when I was 20 – there are more factors to consider."
Macpherson still models but spends much of her time overseeing a business empire that includes the successful Elle Macpherson Intimates lingerie line. But her latest venture puts her in front of a different kind of camera as host and executive producer of Fashion Star, which premiered Tuesday on NBC, alongside celebrity mentors Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie.
Macpherson, who says Simpson "looks so beautiful" as a mother-to-be, remembers her own pregnancy weight gain of more than 50 lbs. with each of her sons, Flynn, 14, and Cy, 9.
"My butt was huge, my breasts and stomach were huge. I didn't do maternity wear – instead I bought huge clothes in an attempt to be fashionable," she says. "But I was in awe of the changes that were going on in my body."