From the catwalk to fronting TV shows, this high-fashion model-turned-small-screen presenter’s worldwide travels have seen her sashay around the globe in the name of style. But there’s no-where else this ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ champ and former radio show host would rather live than here in her long-time Loughton abode
Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle… Lisa Snowdon’s famous face has graced the cover of many a high-fashion magazine. Exuding confidence, this Essex resident has also modelled for Mercedes-Benz, been ‘the face’ for Gucci and fronted high-profile campaigns, such as Kelloggs’ Special K, Avon and Marks & Spencer.
What’s more, the top fashion and beauty model has featured in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women a whopping 10 times! She’s also survived the jungle, having competed in ‘I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!’, guest-hosted ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, and made her model moves on the ‘Strictly’ dancefloor with former pro champion of the BBC’s flagship show, Brendan Cole.
Not only is Lisa one of the UK’s most successful models, she’s also one of our nation’s best-loved broadcasters, too. She replaced fellow Essexite Denise Van Outen on the airwaves at Capital FM, co-hosting the Breakfast Show with Johnny Vaughan, and frequently stars on our screens as a fashion presenter on ‘This Morning’.
She’s always oozed confidence on screen but behind the scenes for the past 10 years Lisa has been suffering with the perimenopause and menopause, and its many, often debilitating, symptoms after starting her menopause in her early forties.
A Model Author
Rather than stay silent on the subject and just putting up with it, she decided to do something positive by sharing her personal menopause story and helping to inform others, adding a brilliant new string to her bow along the way.
The open and honest post-menopausal model has now joined a new league of trailblazing famous females breaking down a BIG barrier by opening up about their own unique menopause journeys, which up until recently were seen as ‘taboo’. And the brunette beauty’s become a best-selling author in the process, assisting so many others going through ‘the change’.
Loving Loughton Life!
Much of Lisa’s menopause tale and tips were written during lockdown, at her lovely home in Loughton, which she has owned for a milestone 25 years.
‘I fell in love with the area and my house all those years ago,’ she reveals, when I ask what first attracted her to her home. ‘I liked that it was close to all the local amenities, the forest, and the tube, so it’s not too far from London.’
And after over quarter of a century of life in the air and on the road, the last few years have seen Lisa spending much more time here, busily breathing life back into her home with her fiancé, creative director George Smart.
‘I often thank my lucky stars that I found my home here in Loughton, and it’s just getting better and better!’ she smiles. ‘Firstly, living here with my fiancé, George, who also loves this area as much as I do.’
Despite growing up in Hertfordshire, this county has always had her heart. ‘I was born in Harlow hospital and my nana and grandad lived in Sawbridgeworth near Bishop’s Stortford, so I just sort of gravitated back to my Essex roots!’
Therapeutic Wellbeing
Now in her early 50s, these days she has a different perspective on life. ‘I don’t need clubs,’ she divulges. ‘I need places to keep my mental and physical wellbeing on track and I can honestly say this area has them all.’
She says she’s witnessed some welcome changes here, while she’d been strutting her stuff in the capital. ‘The high street has evolved so much. When I moved into London and wasn’t here for about seven years, I came back to find a Space NK and some great places to eat, plus juice bars, gyms and Pilates places. Those things make me happy now.’
Self-care Regimes
A huge advocate of self-care, the plant-loving presenter enjoys practising yoga and Pilates in her stunning and spacious conservatory-come-garden-room ‘sanctuary’, which boasts plants aplenty hanging in rattan baskets from this sensational space’s glass-vaulted ceilings. You can positively feel the energy flow here…
‘I love my morning breathwork, too. It gets me into a good place mentally and sets me up for the day. I have a mat made out of amethyst and tourmaline which heats up, so I like to meditate and/or fall asleep/have a power nap on that. It’s like my little self-care spa.’
A Celebrity Masterchef
When it comes to cooking, the ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ champion, who was crowned winner of the culinary Channel 4 series in September 2022, is a keen cook, who also kicked off Waitrose’s ‘Weekend Kitchen’ TV series with Steve Jones some time ago.
‘When I was in the depths of the menopause a few years ago, I never dreamed that I would write a book and win ‘Celebrity Masterchef’!’ she exclaims.
At home with partner George, the pair love to cook up a great paella, among other delectable dishes. ‘We both love to cook, mostly for each other. We have friends over occasionally, but we do like to go out locally, too.’
Nature Lover
Nature also plays a prominent part in her preferred location choice. ‘Being so close to Epping Forest is epic! I love going for long walks there and we certainly make the most of it,’ reveals Lisa. ‘We have the best community around us, too. Lovely people, great neighbours, and the high street has some great places.’
Out-and-about, Loughton and its surroundings cater and deliver for Lisa’s food, fashion, beauty and self-care needs, too.
A few of her fave haunts? ‘Tom, Dick & Harry’s for Sunday lunch, Tandoor at the Chambers and The Ginger Pig. I also love KC Fisheries, Wood Stock Organic Food Store on the High Road, 8 Rocks for wine, Vanilla Boutique for all our nieces and nephews, Space NK, Pilates studio Zero Gravity… I have a new PT, Paul at Zone 6, and have a great physio and massage therapist, Tom and Jodie, who also work there. I go to a gorgeous beauty place at the other end of the High Road, called Endermospa. I see Sue for my body and facials, who is brilliant! Lynsey the waxing guru is incredible, too.’
‘I also love Buckhurst Hill, and I’ve found a fantastic place called Be Superhuman, which has a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, Cryo and Red-light therapy… all my favourite holistic therapies.’
‘And I LOVE the independent book shop on Loughton High Road. They stock my book there, which I have signed, too!’
Growing Old = Getting Better!
During lockdown, the gorgeous fresh-faced model presenter and former ‘Britain's Next Top Model’ host was forced to film her ‘This Morning’ fashion segments and competitions from her Essex abode, and also put pen to paper for her recently released book.
On a mission to spread the word that growing old just means getting better, how has her fantastic first title, ‘Just Getting Started’, been received?
‘It’s incredible to think I’m a published author!’ she says. ‘The reaction has been overwhelming; the messages from women and from men completely floors me some days. I wrote it to help people, so they could save time, money and their relationships, as going through perimenopause/menopause can be a very confusing and lonely time for everyone…’ she explains. ‘You don’t recognise yourself, and a lot of women – me included – want to hide away, push the people we love away and leave our jobs.’
Lisa’s hoping to help put a stop to this. ‘This isn’t acceptable to me. I want to highlight signs and symptoms so women can get the help they need, and quickly, too. I also want to help everyone to incorporate new healthy lifestyles hacks to make getting older easier to navigate, the weight gain, and all the other stuff that comes with getting older and dealing with our hormones.’
Just Getting Started!
Lisa says she wants women to be educated, understand what’s happening and to go to the doctor if they decide they want to try HRT. ‘Don’t wait too long and don’t leave it too late, as no-one should suffer in silence,’ she advises.
‘We are living longer than ever before and we all look so good, too,’ she adds. ‘It’s all about embracing these changes, helping each other by talking about our experiences and having an incredible attitude that yes, we are getting older, but we are wiser and more experienced, and life is just beginning.’
Which led to her candid book’s title choice, ‘I got to 50 and everyone thought, ‘What are you going to do now?’ It’s like society just expects you to give up and you’re not seen, you’re invisible. And I was like, ‘Do you know what, my perimenopause and menopause are behind me, and now I’m just getting started!’
‘That’s why I called the book ‘Just Getting Started’. It’s how I truly feel.’ She says the world is now her oyster. ‘There are so many things I want to do and places I want to go... I want to grab life by the balls and run with it!’
Her brilliant debut book clears up confusion and myths for those starting on what can be a really rocky road. ‘I want women to realise that the perimenopause and menopause are just a blip, and once we’ve got control of it, we can step into our power and own our lives and take that next step. So, it’s a book about hope.’
Flying High with EHAAT, Essex’s Heroes of the Skies
Lisa’s also now flying high with her new ambassadorial role for Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT). ‘On the ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ mass catering day, Jane Gurney, the charity’s CEO, invited me to be an ambassador!’
Lisa, along with the eight other semi-finalists, cooked lunch that day for 70 guests, including medics from EHAAT and the College of Paramedics, pilots and charity support staff, at EHAAT’s state-of-the-art airbase at North Weald, designing and creating four dishes in just three hours.
‘I’m so honoured to be an ambassador for EHATT,’ she continues. ‘Obviously, I’m in good company, with Ray Winston an ambassador, too, but these guys and girls are incredible and so brave and selfless. The heroes of the skies… I’m always humbled by the work that they do, how many lives they save and how hard they work.’
And that’s not all, this philanthropic TV and radio star also assists other charitable causes. ‘I’m also an ambassador for Meningitis Now and Breast Cancer Now.’
Grand Designs with George
Lisa and George dream of creating a ‘Grand Design’ one day. ‘We would LOVE to design and build a house - that is our dream project. Ideally in Essex, but it really depends on where we’re going to land… Let’s see what happens. We are very happy with where we are now as Loughton is a great location.
‘We’d like a little more space for a gym, infrared sauna and a swimming pool. That would be the dream! Although I’m not sure how we’d heat it, with the cost of living... But I’m big on manifesting, so I’m throwing that out to the universe!’
Menopause Mandate
Lisa’s now living her best life here in Loughton, and with this ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ champ’s fingers in lots of pies, including her podcast at getliftedpodcast.com and her decade-long on-trend jewellery range designs in collaboration with QVC, her star is certainly shining brightly.
And how will she be celebrating World Menopause Day this October? ‘With lots of events and wellness talks, and, of course, continuing the campaigning with the Menopause Mandate!’
Lisa’s book, ‘Just Getting Started’, ‘Lessons in life, love and menopause’, published by Harper Collins, is out now.
Follow Lisa on Instagram: @lisa_snowdon
