Toyah Wlilcox: 'Plastic surgery is feminism¿s revenge on sexism' | Mail Online

Toyah Willcox: 'I¿m an insomniac... I get by on about four hours sleep a night'

Actress and singer Toyah Wilcox, 52, talks plastic surgery, hip replacements and going to the gym.

YOU’RE 52 NOW—  DO YOU FEEL IT?

I’m in really good shape considering what women have to go through to get to 52. I’m exactly the same weight— just under 8st— as I was in the Eighties, but I look bigger because I’ve shrunk an inch in height to 5ft 1in.

DO YOU REGRET HAVING PLASTIC SURGERY?

Plastic surgery is feminism’s revenge on sexism. I’m not interested in like gravity-defying breasts— for me it’s about looking vital and not artificially young. I had a mini facelift— my jowls and bags removed.

HAD ANY OTHER SURGERY?

I was born with shallow hip sockets and one leg 2in shorter than the other (I was also born with a twisted spine and clawed feet). In the past two years my right hip became a nightmare so I had a replacement. I had to use crutches and learn to walk again, but it transformed my life. I also had a mole lasered.  

DO YOU WORK OUT?

I go to the gym three times a week, but don’t kill myself. I have a costume room on the fifth floor of my house, filled with my headdresses, outfits and shoes. I run up there four or five times a day.

EVER DIETED?

Not since my 20s. Diets work initially but then you get so hungry you end up eating more. But my mother has always been overweight and I’m prone to weight gain, too, so I limit myself to 1,500 calories a day. I always have huge pots of vegetable soup on the stove— cabbage or cauliflower or parsnip.

ANY VICES?

Crutches: Toyah's hip replacement transformed her life

I have a glass of champagne once a month, but don’t drink otherwise.

POP ANY PILLS?

Flaxseed oil— it makes your skin look wonderful— and also cod liver oil, Vitamin E and Neurozan, a supplement with lots of nutrients for brain function. I also practise homeopathy and take echinacea and Bach flower remedies to prevent myself getting ill.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

Not clinical depression, but I do get incredibly frustrated, for example when deals fall through or people are nasty about me. When I feel like that I just go to the gym and kick the hell out of it.

WHAT KEEPS YOU  AWAKE AT NIGHT?

I’m an insomniac so it takes very little. I get by on about four hours sleep a night, seven if I’m lucky. 

BIGGEST PHOBIA?

Spiders. I can’t even go in a room if there’s one in there and I’ve been known to go out into the street and ask strangers to get rid of one.

FEEL-GOOD SECRET?

Work. I was a lazy teenager but once I got into showbusiness, work became part of my happiness. It’s fulfilling and fun, and keeps you moving.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

I don’t see the point of being Toyah Willcox for ever— it’s been testing being her for 50 years. I’d like to come back as a man. They get away with more.

toyahwillcox.com

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