She was crowned Miss Italy at just 16. She went on to walk the runways for some of the biggest names in fashion before building a career in film, theater and television.

Martina Colombari, an icon of seemingly timeless beauty, has never shied away from sharing both the joys of her life — including her enduring relationship with her husband, former soccer player Billy Costacurta — and its more painful moments, such as her son Achille’s health struggles.

Now 51, Colombari is opening up once again, this time in her new book, Il cambiamento sei tu (You Are the Change), published by Sperling & Kupfer. In what reads like a candid conversation between friends, she discusses her experience with menopause without taboos and encourages women to take charge of their own well-being.

When a woman’s body begins to change — from loss of muscle tone and vaginal dryness to hormonal fluctuations and a decreasing sex drive — it may be time to rethink her habits, from diet and exercise to relationships and social life.

In the book, beauty, long a hallmark of the Colombari brand, becomes less a goal than a byproduct of a lifestyle centered on well-being. Her approach includes hormone replacement therapy, hyaluronic acid creams applied “in a way their manufacturers never imagined,” and sex toys.

Colombari discussed it all during a break from filming Se c’ero dormivo (I Must Have Been Dreaming), the new movie by director Fausto Brizzi.

When did you begin to see yourself differently?

“If I feel good about myself, if I look in the mirror and like what I see, I’m a more present wife, a better mother, an actress who delivers a stronger performance, and someone who can be there for a friend. If I don’t like myself, I find it hard to live.”

Why weren’t you thinking this way in your 20s or 30s?

“Behind the issue of beauty lie questions of identity, judgment and other people’s expectations. But at a certain point, you start asking yourself: ‘What really makes me feel good?’ You don’t ask yourself that at 30. At that age, other things matter to you.”

Given how fit you look, talking about menopause may come as a surprise.

“I started focusing on longevity about 10 years ago. I changed my diet, made exercise a discipline and incorporated supplements into my routine. I have a therapist I can turn to, someone who has been training me at the gym for 22 years, and I’ve taken DNA, epigenetic and gut microbiome tests.

“I’ve always been healthy, but ‘health’ doesn’t just mean ‘the absence of disease.’ I told myself: ‘I’m doing well now, but something is bound to change.’

“Then everyone starts making you anxious: ‘Just wait until you’re over 40.’ And don’t even get me started on turning 50 — total panic. So I said, ‘OK, let’s focus on prevention.’”

Your approach to prevention goes beyond routine checkups.

“Traditional prevention means Pap tests and mammograms, dental cleanings and checkups every six months, an abdominal ultrasound and a full-body scan every few years. But why not take simple preventive steps that cost me nothing and help me age better? We all have an expiration date, after all. You can’t fight time. It’s more a matter of saying, ‘I’ll take you by the hand and try to help you feel good.’”

The “Colombari method.”

“Exactly. I say that half-jokingly.”

What does it involve?

“Healthy eating, how we shop for groceries, how we cook, which nutrients are good for us and which aren’t, what our bodies absorb and what they don’t. In short, understanding our own instruction manual.”

And plenty of exercise.

“Yes, but during menopause, walking or doing yoga isn’t enough. You need to go to the gym and train your muscles with weights.”

Your approach to wellness is holistic.

“Wellness isn’t just going to the gym three times a week and eating steak with a salad. It’s also what you get from having pizza with your girlfriends or taking a walk along the river. It’s going to work with enthusiasm and knowing that the man by your side loves you, respects you and is happy about your successes.

“We have a duty to stay healthy because life is complicated. When life knocks you down, if you’re not in good shape, the next blow can finish you off. “And then…”

Then what?

“Then I want to be a fit woman in her 50s who looks in the mirror and likes what she sees. So many women my age seem much older than I do, and it makes me angry. Why can’t we tell our husbands, “I don’t feel like making dinner tonight. I’m going to spend an hour at the gym’?”

You share very personal details in the book, from treatments and intravenous infusions to constipation. Is it worth opening up like that when you’re often criticized on social media?

“Yes. I wanted to write this book because everyone asks me: ‘How do you manage to look like this at 50? What do you eat? How do you work out? How do you deal with menopause?’

“And it’s not because I’m a professional, but because I’m an ordinary person — perhaps with more resources than most, but an authentic one who also talks about mental health. We shouldn’t be afraid to show our vulnerability or ask for help. We should also learn to welcome other people’s requests for help.”

Did you find that kind of support during difficult times?

“My true friends, both women and men, stayed by my side. But many colleagues, friends and acquaintances weren’t there when I needed them most. I encountered a great deal of hypocrisy, very little consistency and many manipulators who make you feel as though you’re the one in the wrong, as though the real problem is how you reacted. Since then, I’ve stopped holding my tongue.”

You write: “What happened with Achille hit me like a tremendous slap in the face.” How much did your “wellness discipline” help you get through that difficult period in your son’s life?

“It helped me hold the pieces together. But there’s one phrase I can’t stand: ‘You’re strong.’ Nobody is born strong; we become strong. My son has ADHD, a neurodevelopmental condition, and we know how difficult these disorders can be to manage. That said, I’m proud of the son I have.”