Eileen Ford apologizes for being late for an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel, explaining that her manicure took much longer than expected.

"Cougars have to take care of themselves," she says, flashing her "Jungle red" nails.

At 89, the legendary model agency owner is more like a lion who has always fiercely protected her cubs. She and her husband ran Ford Models for half of the 20th century, handling the careers of such supermodels as Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, Christie Brinkley, Jerry Hall and Christy Turlington, who at the age of 16 moved into Ford's New York townhouse during the summer of 1985 and became one of the agency's biggest successes.

"We lived in a 100-year-old home and the stairs creaked, but (the models) were sure I used it to check on them when they got home," Ford recalls.

"Christy Turlington told us, long after the fact, that she would come down in her pajamas and she had hidden her clothes in the oven. We had a washing machine in the cellar, so she would go down to do some laundry. And she would get dressed and go out. By the time she got back, we were asleep."

Surprisingly, Ford has never been formally recognized for her six decades of contributions to the fashion industry. But that is about to change.

Fashion Houston is honoring her tonight with a multimedia tribute, "Eileen Ford: Six Decades of Beauty." Author Robert Lacey, who has written best-selling biographies of Queen Elizabeth and Henry Ford, has chosen Ford as his next subject and is trailing her to gather research. A documentary crew is in town as well. It's her moment in time.

Being honored is "unreal," Ford says. "I think as people go, I'm pretty normal. No matter what you do in business, when you go home and you have four children and a husband and models (to deal with), it's a great normalizer, particularly in New York, where raising three daughters requires great skill."

Ford and her husband opened their modeling business in 1947, the same year that Christian Dior created the "New Look." But she doesn't really want to dwell on the past. Asked for a favorite recollection about her illustrious career, she says, "My favorite memory is right now. Maybe it will be tonight."

(Eileen and Jerry Ford were married two months short of 65 years. "He was the best looking man I ever saw," she recalls. He died in 2008. While their daughter, Katie, took over the business in 1995, Eileen Ford remained CEO until 2007, when the agency was sold.)

The only current model on her radar screen is Gisele Bundchen. But Ford still loves fashion. Escada remains a favorite designer.

"I can agonize over a skirt length for a week, although I can never wear a short skirt at my age," she says, with a laugh.

Ford knows the modeling business is brutal, and very few make it to the top, so when a young woman asks for advice, "one of the nicest things I can tell her is no, because there are too many people who tell her yes when it is not possible. My no is a protection."

But isn't it hard to be so blunt?

"Of course," she replies. "I just had to do it in my home the other day. A next door neighbor said, 'This girl is beautiful and she wants to model.' I had to say no to her. It's like saying you're not pretty. It isn't that. It's that some people who think they can earn their living as models cannot, no matter what they hope and dream."

Nowadays, Ford lives in a house on a heavily wooded 21-acre property in New Jersey. "I figure every wind storm costs me $1,000 because that's what it takes to cut down a tree. But it's beautiful. I think it's the prettiest house I've ever seen," she says.

She remains active, going into New York City regularly and taking walks with her secretary at a mall near her home. She exercises for 20 minutes every morning and night, but it's not a regimented plan. "I make them up," she says.

She loves to throw parties. She doesn't take naps. And her big vice is an addiction to Judge Judy. "I'm her passionate fan," Ford says.

Ford is impressed by the possibilities of a Houston fashion week.

"Women here are always looking great. I'm sure when they get out of bed, they look great," she says.

But she's not so flattered when someone refers to her as legend. When they do, "I feel my age," she says. "It's hard to know that you're old. I never anticipated that."