Kelly Le Brock talks motherhood, aging and her return to Hollywood.

The star opens up about overcoming adversity and finding her purpose as a mom

Don’t hate Kelly Le Brock because she’s still beautiful! Despite shooting to fame in her first film, 1984’s The Woman in Red, the 57-year-old’s life has had its challenges. “I was a very insecure, scrawny kid who looked like an Afghan hound,” Kelly tells Closer. “I grew up in English boarding schools, basically institutionalized from 5 until 15. I never felt attractive.” All that changed when she became a teen model and found success acting. “When I do interviews with men who are 30 or 40, they’re still shaking!” she says with a laugh. “It’s very flattering, but I don’t take it seriously.”

Maybe that’s because she’s had to overcome more serious obstacles, like the abusive behavior she had to endure while working as an actress and model in Hollywood, which she’s dealt with by working for the United Nations to help end violence against women. She also weathered a tumultuous

’90s divorce from her Hard to Kill costar Steven Seagal. What’s seen her through the tough times, she says, has been her three kids with Steven: Annaliza, 30, Dominic, 27, and Arissa, 24, who co-stars with Kelly on Lifetime’s modeling reality show, Growing Up Supermodel, debuting Aug. 16. “Becoming a mom gave me purpose, resilience and a reason to get up in the morning,” Kelly shares. “And sexiness comes from experience, not being young, so I feel sexier than ever!”

— Gregg Goldstein

You’ve been out of the public eye for quite a while!

I decided to quit Hollywood to raise my babies away from the limelight. I didn’t want them looking into any of the negative aspects of my divorce [from Steven]. So I ran for the hills, and I’ve basically been living in the wilderness [of Southern California] with no TV for 24 years!

What brought you back?

Well, when you get to my age, you grow some balls. [Laughs] When I was touted as a sex symbol and beautiful and blah, blah, blah, the irony is that I didn’t feel it. Now that I’m more mature and wrinkled — I actually do have wrinkles! — I’m much more comfortable in my skin. I’m happy with who I am and where I am.

So no plastic surgery for you?

Of course, I’ve tried Botox and other stuff, but I’m trying not to do it. It’s difficult, but

I’m trying to keep it real.

It must be tough when you launched your career as a cover model and had two of the sexiest roles of the ’80s, The Woman in Red and Weird Science.

I could not have had a better, more loving environment for my first movie. When Gene Wilder died, I felt like I lost my father in film — he held my hand the whole way. I just went to the memorial that his wife, Karen, gave. Gene was Willy Wonka. And Weird Science was another strange phenomenon,

because [I got the call] while I was riding horses in France with Sting. So I said, “No, I’ll hang out with Sting.” Then they hired someone who didn’t work out and said, “We’ll give you whatever you want.” They’d been filming for weeks, but the chemistry we had was extraordinary.

Is it easier to work with a spouse, as you did on 1990’s Hard to Kill?

I think it’s way harder, because you have intimacy that I didn’t care to share — it felt more fake. Plus we had a fight just before we shot the poster, and I didn’t feel like being close to him, so I guess that’s where the acting comes in. There’s a little tidbit. [Laughs] I call that one Hard to Watch.

It’s been 21 years since you divorced Steven. Have you been able to form a friendship?

Unfortunately, no, he hasn’t been open to it. It’s been very sad, because it affects the children. But I’ve been married three times so far, and my attitude is “Never give up!”

Right, you also wed producer Victor Drai and investment banker Fred Steck. Are you still friends with them?

We’re friends. It’s unfortunate [about Steven], but it’s his loss, and our kids’ loss, too.

How did becoming a mom change you?

My body — the boobies, the whole kit and caboodle. They’re in places I didn’t know I had. [Laughs] Seriously, it made me a better person. Before, I was a lost soul. Then you look at this little person, and you are so responsible. It’s an extraordinary journey, one I’m very proud of. I really like who my children are. It was very hard raising three kids by myself, but I took the challenge and I enjoyed being with them. They’re wonderful.

Has making your new reality show made you miss Hollywood?

No, I never do. I did a [2015] TV movie, A Prince for Christmas, but took some time off to deal with tragedy. My mom was dying of Alzheimer’s for six years, and my brother was dying of cancer for two, both at the same time. I did hospice with them, I unplugged them. When you experience something like that, that’s real, and it gives you a reward you can’t have when you’re off doing auditions.

What’s next for you?

I’ve written a 28-chapter book that’s so libelous, I can’t publish it! [Laughs] I want to get it out to people who have been abused: If I can get up in the morning, so can you, because I’ve been through it a number of times. I did years of therapy, from biofeedback to hypnosis. I became a U.N. ambassador for women against violence and made a speech — one of the scariest things I’ve done.

“I didn’t want to do The Woman in Red.I kept saying, ‘Wouldn’t Kim Basinger be better?’ It’s amazing I had a career at all!” — Kelly (with Gene)

Any words of wisdom you can offer?

Once you are comfortable with yourself, that’s always going to be something you have, and I’m not going to let anyone take that away. — Reporting by Ilyssa Panitz

She calls Arissa, her daughter and Growing Up Supermodel co-star, “a force of nature.” “Gene was such a talent,” she says of her director/co-star on The Woman in Red.