Elle Macpherson was given a breast cancer diagnosis seven years ago — a shock she described as unexpected, confusing and daunting in every possible way — and then she made a decision that left her entire medical team speechless, choosing to walk away from chemotherapy and every form of conventional treatment.

Seven years later she celebrated her 63rd birthday in the Bahamas in a bikini, sharing photos and a video montage of her life set to Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight — and told the world she is in imperfect health, feeling vibrant, alive and excited by everything still coming. She did not follow the rules. She followed herself — and at 63 the results are impossible to argue with.