The respect Evangelista commanded in the modelling world was unparalleled, but a few years back she disappeared from the spotlight after revealing that she’d been disfigured by a cosmetic procedure gone wrong, leaving her both furious and ashamed. Evangelista filed a $50-million lawsuit against the company responsible, which was subsequently settled. Now, at 58, Evangelista is back — big time — starring in “The Super Models,” a four-part Apple TV documentary series, and as the subject of a coffee-table book with famed photographer and frequent collaborator Steven Meisel. (Evangelista is also doing two Toronto appearances this month; details below.)

These days, Evangelista is more about honesty and heart than glitz and glamour. After I announced my breast cancer diagnosis last year, I was incredibly moved when Evangelista reached out to divulge that she, too, had been through a breast cancer journey in 2018 and had a bilateral mastectomy. This summer, she called me again to share that her breast cancer had returned. Evangelista is now on a mission to raise breast cancer awareness and determined to face the future with resilience and optimism. I caught up with her recently over Zoom.

I think I wanted to make me dream, not just make other people dream. It really is such a nice escape to go to work and be in this fairy tale and play all these different characters. It’s a great escape from reality for me.

Was there ever a time that you grew weary of what you were doing, when you weren’t feeling inspired?

I did have to question myself around 1993, when the grunge movement rolled in. There seemed to have been a demise of the supermodel. And please, I don’t call myself a supermodel, unless it’s a joke. I still don’t really know what a “supermodel” is! But that was a tough period. When I was looking back on my September Vogue covers — and I have five September Vogue covers now — I noticed that one was in ’93 and that was supposed to be the year of the demise! I look at all my work in that period, working with photographers like Corinne Day, Juergen Teller and David Sims … I was being featured in all the magazines. Somehow, I fit in and I don’t know why. At one point, I thought maybe it was because of my body shape, because I never had a curvy woman’s body so I could do the waif thing — I’m saying that tongue in cheek. I did question myself, but that was a great time for me because I succeeded.

In fashion, you’re always questioning yourself because it’s always changing. It’s like this whirlwind that you get soaked up in. I don’t know why I came off as confident. I am confident in my work. Maybe in real life, no. But in my work, yes. I’m very confident.

It didn’t seem like a lot to me. I used to ignore jet lag. That was my motto: just ignore it. There’s no way I could keep up with that pace now. But it was easy then, when I was young — you can do anything when you’re young. You know, on some nights, if we were out very, very, very late, we would look fine when we got to the studio a few hours later. That wouldn’t happen today.

But did it feel that hard?

Yeah, because we could handle it.

My mother was always so worried about me, saying, “Don’t work so hard!” And I’d say, “Ma, worry about me when I’m not working so hard, because I love what I do.

The other thing that kept you going, I mean for me, was that you just didn’t know how long it would last. So you took advantage of it. It’s there. Take it.

I feel more positive now and I’m trying to just make the most of my life. I spent so much time in seclusion. If I had to come out, I came out for my son (Augustin, now 17, who Evangelista shares with French billionaire and Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault). But I feel like I wasn’t living. I thought I would be judged and I probably am judged, but I’ve found out most recently that there’s so much love out there, and so much support, even within my industry. I felt guilt for so long because I did a beauty treatment that apparently millions of people have done. And I keep reading about “plastic surgery gone wrong.” But it wasn’t plastic surgery! It was a tool meant to tweak your body just a little bit and make you happier. It was non-invasive and there was no downtime … supposedly no harsh side effects. I can’t believe just how much it changed my life and what it did to my mind. But I made the decision that I didn’t want to live like that any longer.

In a routine mammogram, I found out that I had a very early stage DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) and that didn’t freak me out at all. I didn’t get nervous, I just did what I had to do. I did a lumpectomy and then that came back like “Well, no, your margins aren’t clear … ” So I did what I had to do. I thought I would live, get it over with, get it done. It was nothing compared to some of the lung surgeries I had in my youth — I mean when you open up your chest, that’s a whole different ball game. (The bilateral mastectomy) was easy for me — that didn’t do a number on my head at all and, esthetically, I wasn’t disturbed by it. I have a little trampoline that I rebound on and I thought, “Oh my God, my life changed! I never have to wear a bra again! This is really good.” It was the other issues, the abnormal, unnatural things happening to my body that really messed with my head until I decided I wasn’t going to let it anymore.

I went into full attack mode. I’d lost one of my best friends last year and I feel like she didn’t fight hard enough. I wanted to just throw everything at it, all the ammunition I have. Now I just have to pray. I think I feel pretty good.

Correct me if I’m wrong … But no matter how invincible you feel, there’s nothing like some doses of chemo to set you straight …

They taught me to believe in myself more. Sometimes I think I went into a trance and a “you can get through this” mode: just do what you have to do. And if God is testing me, OK, I have passed all the tests! I’m done. Enough! I want to sit down with my mother one day and try to count the surgeries I’ve had. Like that poor woman has been to every single one.

How great that you’ve had your mom as such a support.

When I had my son, Augie, it had to be a C-section because they were afraid for me to strain my lungs. My mom was right there. I thought the baby was supposed to come into the mother’s arms first to bond, but no, no no, she grabbed him and said, “Look how beautiful he is!” And there was that side of me saying, “Just let her have this moment after all I put that woman through … ”

I keep saying, “Bring it on!” I was never anti-aging. I was never afraid of wrinkles. I love wrinkles! Wrinkles are gorgeous. But I still think that you want to look good. I do things like stay out at the sun because I’ve have melasma since I was 33, so that’s helped me because I think age spots can make you look older, less fresh. There are tools out there, but one must be very careful about which tools and which doctors they choose, and be very aware of the fact that there (can be) consequences.

Now, for sure. It’s like I’ve come back to life. It’s not like I’m getting a second chance; I’m getting a redo. I’m seeing it all differently now.

Ever get nostalgic for the old days? Or are you like Karl Lagerfeld, who was always onto the next and never wanted to look back too much?

I like laughing about the old days, but there’s something about moving forward. There’s so much to look forward to.