Janice Dickinson: “I don’t care about plastic surgery after nearly dying from cancer”
The one-time supermodel opens up to Closer about how fighting for her life changed her perspective
She once claimed S she “lived for plastic surgery” after transforming her appearance with a facelift, brow-lift, tummy tuck, fillers and breast implants.
But Janice Dickinson tells Closer that, after almost losing her life to breast cancer last year, she’s no longer obsessed with her appearance. The former US supermodel, 62 – who also starred as a judge on America’s Next Top Model from 2003 to 2005 – revealed last March that she was battling breast cancer after doctors discovered a pea-sized lump in her right breast. She underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy, and reveals doctors recently gave her the all-clear. She says, “I’m a strong person, but when I got diagnosed I lost it. The thought of my two children not having me there was so tough. Doctors have told me I’m now cancer-free. The whole thing has changed my perspective. I was worried about losing my breast implants, but in the end I didn’t have to.
“Now I wish they were smaller and I regret having them put in at all as it’s harder to check for lumps. Before, it was all about vanity, but now I care about saving my life. I don’t care about plastic surgery right now – my priorities have changed.”
SEEING IT DIFFERENTLY
She adds, “I don’t spend an hour doing my hair and make-up any more. I’m finally satisfied with my body. I’ve looked at things differently since I had cancer because I understand how precious life truly is. I may see the reflection of my body when I go by glass windows, but I’ve stopped looking.”
Janice – who once claimed to have slept with around 1,000 men – has named Jack Nicholson, Warren
Beatty, Mick Jagger
and Sylvester Stallone among her famous conquests.
But the star reveals it’s her fourth husband, psychiatrist Dr Robert “Rocky” Gerner, 70, who has been her true love, and credits him for helping her survive her heartbreaking battle.
She says, “Rocky wasn’t just my rock, he was a whole country. He was a planet to me. He would go with me to every doctor’s appointment and he would remind me ‘cancer does not define you.’ Without him I wouldn’t have made it.”
And while Janice – who once gushed that Liam Neeson’s penis was the size of an Evian bottle – believes sex in a marriage is vital, she also admits she loves nothing more than a cuddle.
She says, “Sex is important in mine and Rocky’s relationship and a woman needs to orgasm. If you don’t it’s like a pressure cooker. But if you can’t do the deed, a nice cuddle is just as good. And I never thought I’d say that! I honestly love getting near my husband and just sniffing him. It’s the pheromones. When I first met him I leaned in and took a big whiff and said, ‘You’ll do!’”
TOUGH CHILDHOOD
Janice hasn’t been afraid to speak about her painful childhood and wild partying days. She once revealed that her father Ray had physically, emotionally and sexually abused her as a child and admitted she may have accidentally killed him by destroying his medication for a heart condition.
After finding success as a supermodel in the ’70s, Janice revealed a break-up with a photographer set her on a dark path tainted by drugs and alcohol.
But she tells Closer she’s now completely sober and says her “quiet” life with Rocky and their blended families makes her happier than she could have ever imagined.
A QUIET LIFE
The star says, “I’m teetotal and attend a 12-step programme daily. I’m much more reserved than people think, too. I was well-known for being very opinionated and outspoken, but that came from a lack of understanding. I don’t feel the need to set people straight now.
“My life with Rocky is quieter than my party days, obviously. But I’m so much happier. Mine and Rocky’s one regret is that we never had children together, but he wouldn’t have wanted to be with me when I was younger and taking drugs.
“I was in a dark head space. Now we have an incredible life together and our families are blended. I’m a granny to his three grandsons and I love that more than anything.”
She adds, “Rocky and I love going for walks or fishing together and meeting up for dinner with friends. He filled an emptiness inside of me that I didn’t know I had.”