She may now be a superstar, but Chrissy Teigen is still the same refreshingly honest and disarmingly funny woman who shared hilarious tales and mouth-watering recipes via her food blog, So Delushious, so many years ago.

As candid about her imperfections and insecurities as she is about the highs and lows of fame, parenting and everything in between, Teigen — who’s grown her Cravings business into a mini empire over the last few years — is more than deserving to grace the cover of this year’s The Beautiful Issue.

A hands-on mom to daughter Luna, 4, and son Miles, 2, with husband John Legend, 42, the cookbook author, 35, is now teaching her kids to be exactly who they are.

“I’m an open, free spirit and I love kids to be kids. For us, kindness is such a big thing. When you meet our kids, they’re very warm and friendly,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “You instill those things in them, but for the most part let them be creative and wondrous and spirited and curious beings.”

Born in Utah and raised in Snohomish, Washington, and Huntington Beach, California, Teigen says her Thai mom, Vilailuck “Pepper” Teigen, also encouraged her to discover life for herself.

“My mom was never once like, ‘You probably shouldn’t use Sharpie on your eyebrows,’ ” she says, laughing. “She just let me do it — and I learned! With kids, you let them figure out what they love. John and I are both very relaxed and willing to learn together.”

While working as a model in her late teens and early 20s, Teigen — who was discovered by a photographer at a surf shop while she was working retail — says she often counted calories and stuck to various diets.

But now, “it’s more important for me to enjoy things as they come. I put my mind and spirit over body. If it’s going to make me happy and make me feel good, then I indulge in it,” says the Safely co-founder. “I’ve spent too many years counting calories and scheduling way too many workouts and trying to figure out what my term for wellness was for myself. Now I know it’s on the ground playing with my kids or going to a park or an aquarium.”

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