Interview: True Beauty Judge Cheryl Tiegs

The Must-Know Tip for Feeling Your Best

Q: Do you have wisdom you've acquired that you can share for achieving inner beauty?
A: When I finished my formal education, my agent at the time said, 'Now that you've finished college, don't ever stop learning.' She's absolutely right. I lived in Africa for four or five years, that completely changed my life. I'm a voracious reader, I start new things all the time. For other people, I think gardening is very good and one of the keys to longevity. Take up knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, read a book. Do things that make you feel good, so you feel good about yourself and then can give that to others.

Q: When you're watching a show like this, where every contestant is so outwardly beautiful, it's hard not to think about appearances. As someone who's been a beauty icon for so long, what is your best tip for moms who are so caught up in caring for someone else they might not take time to care for themselves?
A: We all have children, spouses, boyfriends, someone we should care for, and I think that is a component of what makes you feel good about yourself. Taking time for yourself is important, though. I meditate every day for an hour, and even when my son was little, I would sit down and look at him and say, 'Mommy is going to meditate, so will you please not disturb me?' And he understood and respected that mommy needed time for herself and there's nothing the matter with that. You can't be available to someone else 24/7.

Q: What about the more obvious things, like makeup or clothing? Are there little things a woman can do to make herself feel good about the way the world sees her?
A: I think the key is to emphasize your best feature. We all have a best feature. I know it looks like those Sports Illustrated models all have perfect bodies, or what we think are perfect bodies. But really, we just know how to work our bodies. So I think you need to emphasize your best feature and really, truly take care of yourself inside and out.