“We Didn’t Even Have Traffic Lights where I grew up, Mierlo [in south Holland]. It’s about 10,000 people. It’s a great place to be a kid, quiet and safe. I was always running out the door to play outside. My mum was just like, ‘Be back when it’s dark.’ It was that kind of childhood. Not so great when you’re a teenager. Like, ‘Why are we living here? It’s so boring.’ I appreciate it now, when I go with my son [Alfred, 3, with ex-husband David Walliams]. I love going with him; all that freedom and peace.”
“I Was A Difficult Teenager. I had lots of trouble with school, just general teenager troublemaking, but they kept threatening to expel me. I was a handful. So, in the end, when I was 16, my mum took me out of school and I moved to Paris.”
“I Was Scouted When I Was 13 Or 14. We were on a big family holiday to Paris when I was spotted on the Métro by a lady who was the wife of an agent at Elite. It was the most confusing thing ever – I was definitely not attractive. I was a geeky teenager; awkward and thin and lanky and weird. And I had strange teeth. At school, they used to tease me: ‘As if you’re a model!’ They called me Skeleton. Being a model was the furthest thing from my mind, ever. I’m still not sure I’m entirely qualified.”
“Maybe I Was Just Naïve, but I’ve never felt uncomfortable in [the modeling] world. All those stories you hear about fashion… Nobody told me to lose weight. The only thing that was hard was you literally go to ten castings a day and then you get zero jobs. All day long, you are getting rejected just for the way you look. It’s a weird thing for young girls to go through. There were times when I was upset about it, but it’s a job and if someone’s looking for something and it’s not you then that’s fine. You should accept it.”
“By The Time I Was 18 I’d racked up quite a bit of debt as I never worked. So I started doing lots of catalogue jobs. I fixed the debt in two weeks, which was a relief. Then I’d spend a week in Germany or a week in Barcelona – [my agency] sent me everywhere to do castings and to meet people. It was a struggle that lasted six years.”
“I Can’T Walk In Heels, so the catwalk is not really for me. I get super nervous. Like, shaking. I hate being on any kind of stage. But I got really lucky: I did one or two seasons then I got my contract with Calvin Klein, so for four or five years I couldn’t do any shows because I was exclusive to them. It was great! Now I’ll do one or two. I’ve got my son – I don’t want to be on a big fashion tour for a month if I don’t have to be.”
“I Don’T Know If My Body Shape Helps or not. I guess people are always looking for something different so maybe it makes my life easier. Most days I’m comfortable with the way I look, but I’m not the biggest fan all the time. My face is a bit funny- looking. Makeup helps!”
“I Don’T Mind Being Naked in front of people, that’s fine, I just don’t like to be stared at. But on a shoot, no one is staring at the naked model. They’re doing a job and they’ve seen it all 100,000 times before. No one’s interested.”
“I’ve Just Turned 33. That’s pretty old for a model. I’m working with girls born in 2001! My birthday is five days before Christmas and I hate it; I’m like a child about it. No presents that work for both. No one’s allowed to wrap with Christmas paper. And I don’t want a Christmas card that says, ‘Ps: Happy Birthday.’ No!”
“I Wouldn’t Want To Be 20 Again. All the things you learn and how you grow as a person, I wouldn’t want to give that up just to be young again. I know who I am now. I’m more confident.”
“I Love That I Don’t Have To Work Every Day. Especially as I’m raising my son; I get to spend so much time with him. Where else can you find a job like that? It’s such a scary thought, so I’m just going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that this is a job I’m going to do forever.”
“You Have To Weigh Up the importance of working versus the importance of being with your child and make the best decision. At least now [Alfred] understands it better; for a while he said I shouldn’t work anymore. But I think every working parent knows what it’s like. It must be difficult if you have to go to an office every day and only see your child before they go to bed. I have the luxury of spending all my days with my son. I feel very lucky about that.”
“Sometimes I Think I’d Like To Have More Children. Only time will tell, I guess, but I’m really happy with just the one at the moment. He’s the best thing ever. I’m proud of him.”
“Everybody Thinks I’m Angry. I have an angry face. I always get shouted at: ‘Cheer up, love!’”
“If I Could Tell The 16-Year- Old Me Anything, it would be to believe in yourself and follow your own path, make your own decisions and stand behind them. I don’t have any regrets. Not really.”