Supermodel-Turned-Trilogy Wellness Ambassador and Host of “Unexpired” Podcast Reflects Growing Trend of Older Adults Pursuing New Opportunities Well Beyond Traditional Retirement Age
Kim Alexis has never been one to stand still. Across a career that has taken her from the world’s most recognizable fashion runways to television, publishing, entrepreneurship, wellness advocacy and public speaking, the Scottsdale resident has continued to evolve with intention. Today, the supermodel is channeling that same energy into a new podcast, new business ventures and a growing platform dedicated to encouraging others to embrace life’s next chapter with purpose and possibility. Since moving to Arizona, Alexis has built a network of personal and professional relationships that have supported her continued evolution, including a longstanding relationship with locally owned Scottsdale Community Bank.
“I have no interest in retiring,” Alexis said. “I love the idea of working, reinventing, creating, evolving – the basis of the ‘Unexpired’ show is finding likeminded people. People that understand that you don’t have to give up just because you’re a certain age.”
Alexis represents a growing number of Americans who continue launching businesses, pursuing new careers and embracing new challenges long after reaching traditional retirement age.
“We may be aging, but we’re still relevant,” Alexis said. “We can start new things and new businesses.”
Alexis is also one who leads by example, having just launched “Unexpired,” a podcast featuring long-form conversations with a series of celebrity guests. Alexis chose the name “Unexpired” to reflect the belief that people do not lose their value or purpose simply because they reach a certain age.
The premiere episode featured Arizona veteran broadcaster Mike Broomhead interviewing Alexis and giving
listeners a glimpse into her own journey before she takes the hosting lead in future episodes.
It was a venture that grew out of an unexpected disappointment. Alexis was set to appear in a Super Bowl commercial before illness sidelined the deal. Rather than dwell on that, she instead chose to devote her time and attention to creating something new.
Working with Phoenix-based Backlot Studios and with support from her husband, Jeff Schwartz, Alexis developed “Unexpired” as a platform for conversations about fitness, nutrition, self-esteem, reinvention and personal growth. Together, the team has completed 28 episodes, with a new episode debuting each Wednesday. Featured guests include a wide variety of chefs, musicians, athletes, comedians and entertainers, among them Carol Alt, Kathy Ireland, Justine Bateman, Esai Morales, Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon, Larry the Cable Guy, Roger Clemens, Nancy Lieberman, Jay Leno and Jason Scheff of the band Chicago, among others.
Listeners embraced the podcast from the outset, with its third episode, featuring Alt, generating more than 5,000 YouTube views. The show currently streams on 13 platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and is actively seeking sponsorship partners as its audience expands. More information about episodes and streaming platforms is available at UnexpiredPodcast.com.
While the podcast itself is a recent development, reinvention has long been a recurring theme in Alexis’ life. Raised outside Buffalo, New York, Alexis initially enrolled at the University of Rhode Island to become a pharmacist. Her life changed after someone encouraged her to try modeling, and she enrolled in a modeling class in the 1970s, which was then not unlike a “charm school.”
A photographer affiliated with Elite Models spotted her and immediately saw potential, making her an offer she couldn’t refuse: guaranteed income for a year if she were to put college on pause to pursue modeling.
Alexis accepted, and after graduating high school and turning 18, she moved to New York City and in four days
landed a magazine cover. Within three months, she’d secured a national cosmetics campaign with Elizabeth Arden. In time, she became one of the most recognizable faces in fashion, but she found herself
facing an uncertain future at the age of 27 when her work as an Ultima II girl came to an end after another company acquired Revlon, eliminating existing contracts.
Rather than see this as a setback, Alexis chose to view it as a fresh start. She soon signed on with the William Morris Agency, which had broadcast and entertainment divisions. Soon, she landed a spot at Good Morning America, where she spent three years as a fashion editor and correspondent from 1987 through 1990. While living in Florida and commuting back and forth from New York City, Alexis realized she enjoyed this new side of media arguably more than modeling.
“I realized I liked being able to speak,” Alexis said. “Whereas, with modeling, you’re just staying silent.”
Following her time at Good Morning America, Alexis hosted a variety of cable television programs while continuing to evolve professionally. She continued following her curiosity, earning certifications as a fitness instructor and integrative health practitioner and obtaining her real estate license in her early 60s. Rather than pursuing entirely new careers, Alexis viewed those experiences as opportunities to deepen her understanding of wellness, lifestyle and active adult living, areas she now focuses on in her role as National Wellness Ambassador for Trilogy by Shea Homes.
In that position, Alexis occasionally leads fitness classes and group hikes, develops adaptable fitness programs for older adults and collaborates on healthy menu items at select communities. Several of those items already appear on menus, with additional desserts and mocktails planned for the future.
And while many of Alexis’ current efforts involve older communities, she’s also interested in connecting with younger generations, helping people of all ages make decisions that improve their health and wellness while sharing lessons from a career that has spanned multiple industries, decades and reinventions. Drawing on her experiences from the worlds of fashion, media, wellness and business, Alexis approaches those interactions with warmth, credibility and a passion for growth.
“Feedback was hard to come by back then,” Alexis said, of her early modeling days. “It wasn’t like today. If my
fame was right now, it would be such a different thing. But you’ve got to love the era you were put in; there were reasons for it.”
Alexis moved to Arizona in 2017 after marrying Jeff Schwartz and soon found herself at home in the state. She loves the fact that it’s a large area with a close-knit culture, and she loves how you can be in a big city at one moment and fully immersed in nature in another. That sense of community also extends to the local businesses she supports.
“It’s a big town, but it still feels like everyone knows everyone,” she said, noting that this relationship-focused approach is one of the reasons she chose to bank locally with Scottsdale Community Bank since moving
to Arizona. “I appreciate having a local bank where people know you by name and take the time to understand your goals. Those kinds of relationships are becoming harder and harder to find.”
Today, Alexis balances her professional pursuits with family life as the mother of three adult sons and a grandmother of one grandson. She also remains open to partnerships and endorsement opportunities that align with her values and interests, preferring long-term collaborations built on authenticity, rather than traditional social media influencing.
For Alexis, every new venture serves the same purpose: proving that growth doesn’t have an expiration date. On “Unexpired,” she grills guests about the decisions that steered their lives, the challenges they faced along the way and the reasons they had for starting over, and in many ways, these conversations have mirrored her own experiences.
And if Alexis has her way, the next chapter may just be her busiest yet.
Learn more about the “Unexpired” podcast at UnexpiredPodcast.com.
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