So finally here's the last part of the ndr interview in english:
(They are still talking about how she was discovered, see second part of the translation.)
But what did you do then? I mean, you were 13 years old...
I turned 14 a couple of weeks later.
So you were 14 and contractually capable so to speak...
I was...which grade was I in? Ninth? I don't know. I still continued to go to school obviously, but I did test shoots every other month, and then one year later I spent a whole month in New York. I got to know my NY agency and they sent me to the most important clients, Calvin Klein above all. It was the agency's goal from the very beginning to get the show and the campaign, and then it happened one month later. And that was how it all started...
That's absolutely crazy!
Yeah, and I really wasn't aware of it. I just did what they told me. Dress like this, get into that car, go to this and that casting. And I was like 'Ok, I don't know this, I don't know why, where is Calvin Klein, oh...it's not the same person any more' I had no idea.
But you did your Abitur in 2010, so it worked to combine school and modeling?
I really worked a lot in 2007, 2008 and 2009. I told my agency that when I wanted to do my Abitur I wouldn't be able to do all the shows, so I skipped two seasons and ... studied.
You were born in Hamburg, then moved to England with your family, then back to Hamburg...
Athens
...then to Greece
no, I went to Athens first.
So Athens first, then England...
no, London, Athens, then back to Hamburg
Yeah...that's what I meant... How much does it help you to have grown up so internationally?
Incredibly much. I think my career wouldn't have been possible without that. I first learned writing and reading in English, that's why I often feel less comfortable being interviewed in German, because I grew up with English and giving interviews internationally. It helped me a lot to understand different cultures, different people. People took my seriously at the beginning and thought I was American. And I've always liked traveling a lot. I never got homesick in my whole life, never.
And you also speak French, we saw that in the video...
Well...that really shows off my best side in the video, whoever made that, thank you. [ironically]
Do you also speak Greek?
No... I can count to ten. And that's it. And I can say good night. My dad always said 'Karl is nich da' [means 'Karl is not there' and is supposed to be a joke because it sounds similar to 'Kalinikta].
[another video about an air guitar contest in NY, not related to Toni at all]
So, it feels like we're in New York, too, now! And Toni, you're a big fan of playing the air guitar...
Sure, I do that all the time. [sarcastically] ... I've never done it.
when dancing
No, I don't do that.
How do you live in NY?
I live in the West Village, I'm never here [points to the studio background showing Central Park], that's too far uptown for me, but it's beautiful. I've been there like three times in my life, I should go there more often. I prefer Washington Square Park near my home, that's where I walk around more often, or along the Westside Highway.
Your brother just visited you...
He's still there, he'll be staying for a couple of months.
So what did you show him?
Everything! I showed him around and was like 'you have to go there and there, this is the coolest place...'
So tell us two or three things!
Uhm, what did I tell him? How to... well, NY is the easiest city to be on one's own, to get to know people and to find things, and it's my favorite city... so, I don't know, my favorite bakery, my favorite running route, a good place for him to go shopping...things like that. But he gets along well on his own.
And just sitting around in Central Park...
Yeah, he should do this, I'll tell him later.
You're half-vegan?
I do eat fish, but no meat and no dairy.
And no eggplants either I read?
What? I like eggplants, but I hate mushrooms.
So you're trying to...
I can't cook, I wish I could, but it's so easy in NY to find delicious food that's healthy, it's more difficult in Germany. And in Burkina Faso I had to stick to bread, but I love bread, so it's ok.
How important is it for you to have a permanent home in NY and to be able to say 'That's home'?
I like to say that in interviews, but I'm only there for a third of the year max... so, I have the biggest wardrobe there, let's put it like this. But I'm not there that often. Most of my work I do there, but most of the time I'm on a plane.
So how do you deal with the jet lag?
I realize I'm getting older, I really am jet lagged now and I never was a couple of years ago. But now I have to take a nap for lunch...I never did that before. And I never took a sleeping pill in my whole life.
That's how it starts...
I never did it! But maybe I need it now.
You don't want to talk about your relationship with Leo DiCaprio...
buuuuut...
We accept that of course, you want to keep it private. But is NY home for you becase you can keep things private there?
You can be very private there. You always bump into celebs and nobody's interested in them in NY. New Yorkers are used to it or maybe they are too proud, I don't know, but you're really used to having a huge film set on the street and it's first of all getting on people's nerves, like 'there's a film set in my street AGAIN' and they pass it by bike and start yelling, they would never stop and stare. The only people to take pictures are tourists.
When it comes to paparazzi, to what extent are you willing to play the game?
Honestly, 99% of the time I didn't see them at all. The pics are always very surprising, that's why they are also often very unflattering.
Not true...
They really are pros. In restaurants, they are completely hidden. I'm always surprised. But you can't choose and you can't do anything against it, it's best to just lead your life and hope that there are less of them one day.
Do you have a favorite place in the world to really retreat from the world?
The Alster in Hamburg. In Hamburg I'm really relaxed, run around, nothing gets on my nerves ever...I love Hamburg, really... even though I love NY too and I'm not often annoyed there either, so I really feel at home wherever I am, I always say 'I'm going home' when I just go back to my hotel room.
In Hamburg you share your apartment with your brother?
Yes, we share both apartments.
Is he as good-looking as you are?
One could think that we are twins, yes?
And he's very tall, too?
Even taller,and I have 8 cousins they are even taller than him.
Being Karl Lagerfeld's muse, what does that mean to you?
Uhhm...Of course it's a huge honor, I love Karl. Everything he has created, he's an idol for me, working with him is always lots of fun. He has several muses though, he works a lot with different people and I haven't seen him in a while.
Is it an accolade in the modeling world to work with him?
Sure, of course.
And then there was this show you did by Victoria's Secret...
It's every year.
It's every year, but that was the first show you did...are these milestones in your career? Can you say 'She made it' after walking for VS?
I think people see it that way. VS is very well known internationally. Being German I didn't really grow up with it. But as I said, I didn't grow up with any model dreams, I never wanted to become a model and when I got approached, I didn't even know what Vogue was. But when I was very successful in NY, everybody was like 'You need to work for VS, but you're only 17, you're still not allowed to', so I went there when I turned 18, and from 19 on I did the show every year and it's really a lot of fun. I love doing the show, all of my girls do it, too, we can do what we want on the runway, we can laugh as much as we want on the runway, you really feel like a princess with wings.
Is there something you don't like about yourself?
A lot of things. For example... Uhm... [thinking]
So, nothing really.
Of course! A lot of things, but I don't want to say them, I don't want the media to report that I'm nit-picking or something like that.
Right, one has to be a bit careful... I mean: Ears perfect, nose perfect...
My ears are very sharp. Somebody made fun of me and said I had ears like a dwarf.
One last question: Do you have a plan for a future? Like, five years of modeling and then a family and kids?
No, no, I have no plans, I told you before, I fly to LA on Monday and that's all I know, really.
(They are still talking about how she was discovered, see second part of the translation.)
But what did you do then? I mean, you were 13 years old...
I turned 14 a couple of weeks later.
So you were 14 and contractually capable so to speak...
I was...which grade was I in? Ninth? I don't know. I still continued to go to school obviously, but I did test shoots every other month, and then one year later I spent a whole month in New York. I got to know my NY agency and they sent me to the most important clients, Calvin Klein above all. It was the agency's goal from the very beginning to get the show and the campaign, and then it happened one month later. And that was how it all started...
That's absolutely crazy!
Yeah, and I really wasn't aware of it. I just did what they told me. Dress like this, get into that car, go to this and that casting. And I was like 'Ok, I don't know this, I don't know why, where is Calvin Klein, oh...it's not the same person any more' I had no idea.
But you did your Abitur in 2010, so it worked to combine school and modeling?
I really worked a lot in 2007, 2008 and 2009. I told my agency that when I wanted to do my Abitur I wouldn't be able to do all the shows, so I skipped two seasons and ... studied.
You were born in Hamburg, then moved to England with your family, then back to Hamburg...
Athens
...then to Greece
no, I went to Athens first.
So Athens first, then England...
no, London, Athens, then back to Hamburg
Yeah...that's what I meant... How much does it help you to have grown up so internationally?
Incredibly much. I think my career wouldn't have been possible without that. I first learned writing and reading in English, that's why I often feel less comfortable being interviewed in German, because I grew up with English and giving interviews internationally. It helped me a lot to understand different cultures, different people. People took my seriously at the beginning and thought I was American. And I've always liked traveling a lot. I never got homesick in my whole life, never.
And you also speak French, we saw that in the video...
Well...that really shows off my best side in the video, whoever made that, thank you. [ironically]
Do you also speak Greek?
No... I can count to ten. And that's it. And I can say good night. My dad always said 'Karl is nich da' [means 'Karl is not there' and is supposed to be a joke because it sounds similar to 'Kalinikta].
[another video about an air guitar contest in NY, not related to Toni at all]
So, it feels like we're in New York, too, now! And Toni, you're a big fan of playing the air guitar...
Sure, I do that all the time. [sarcastically] ... I've never done it.
when dancing
No, I don't do that.
How do you live in NY?
I live in the West Village, I'm never here [points to the studio background showing Central Park], that's too far uptown for me, but it's beautiful. I've been there like three times in my life, I should go there more often. I prefer Washington Square Park near my home, that's where I walk around more often, or along the Westside Highway.
Your brother just visited you...
He's still there, he'll be staying for a couple of months.
So what did you show him?
Everything! I showed him around and was like 'you have to go there and there, this is the coolest place...'
So tell us two or three things!
Uhm, what did I tell him? How to... well, NY is the easiest city to be on one's own, to get to know people and to find things, and it's my favorite city... so, I don't know, my favorite bakery, my favorite running route, a good place for him to go shopping...things like that. But he gets along well on his own.
And just sitting around in Central Park...
Yeah, he should do this, I'll tell him later.
You're half-vegan?
I do eat fish, but no meat and no dairy.
And no eggplants either I read?
What? I like eggplants, but I hate mushrooms.
So you're trying to...
I can't cook, I wish I could, but it's so easy in NY to find delicious food that's healthy, it's more difficult in Germany. And in Burkina Faso I had to stick to bread, but I love bread, so it's ok.
How important is it for you to have a permanent home in NY and to be able to say 'That's home'?
I like to say that in interviews, but I'm only there for a third of the year max... so, I have the biggest wardrobe there, let's put it like this. But I'm not there that often. Most of my work I do there, but most of the time I'm on a plane.
So how do you deal with the jet lag?
I realize I'm getting older, I really am jet lagged now and I never was a couple of years ago. But now I have to take a nap for lunch...I never did that before. And I never took a sleeping pill in my whole life.
That's how it starts...
I never did it! But maybe I need it now.
You don't want to talk about your relationship with Leo DiCaprio...
buuuuut...
We accept that of course, you want to keep it private. But is NY home for you becase you can keep things private there?
You can be very private there. You always bump into celebs and nobody's interested in them in NY. New Yorkers are used to it or maybe they are too proud, I don't know, but you're really used to having a huge film set on the street and it's first of all getting on people's nerves, like 'there's a film set in my street AGAIN' and they pass it by bike and start yelling, they would never stop and stare. The only people to take pictures are tourists.
When it comes to paparazzi, to what extent are you willing to play the game?
Honestly, 99% of the time I didn't see them at all. The pics are always very surprising, that's why they are also often very unflattering.
Not true...
They really are pros. In restaurants, they are completely hidden. I'm always surprised. But you can't choose and you can't do anything against it, it's best to just lead your life and hope that there are less of them one day.
Do you have a favorite place in the world to really retreat from the world?
The Alster in Hamburg. In Hamburg I'm really relaxed, run around, nothing gets on my nerves ever...I love Hamburg, really... even though I love NY too and I'm not often annoyed there either, so I really feel at home wherever I am, I always say 'I'm going home' when I just go back to my hotel room.
In Hamburg you share your apartment with your brother?
Yes, we share both apartments.
Is he as good-looking as you are?
One could think that we are twins, yes?
And he's very tall, too?
Even taller,and I have 8 cousins they are even taller than him.
Being Karl Lagerfeld's muse, what does that mean to you?
Uhhm...Of course it's a huge honor, I love Karl. Everything he has created, he's an idol for me, working with him is always lots of fun. He has several muses though, he works a lot with different people and I haven't seen him in a while.
Is it an accolade in the modeling world to work with him?
Sure, of course.
And then there was this show you did by Victoria's Secret...
It's every year.
It's every year, but that was the first show you did...are these milestones in your career? Can you say 'She made it' after walking for VS?
I think people see it that way. VS is very well known internationally. Being German I didn't really grow up with it. But as I said, I didn't grow up with any model dreams, I never wanted to become a model and when I got approached, I didn't even know what Vogue was. But when I was very successful in NY, everybody was like 'You need to work for VS, but you're only 17, you're still not allowed to', so I went there when I turned 18, and from 19 on I did the show every year and it's really a lot of fun. I love doing the show, all of my girls do it, too, we can do what we want on the runway, we can laugh as much as we want on the runway, you really feel like a princess with wings.
Is there something you don't like about yourself?
A lot of things. For example... Uhm... [thinking]
So, nothing really.
Of course! A lot of things, but I don't want to say them, I don't want the media to report that I'm nit-picking or something like that.
Right, one has to be a bit careful... I mean: Ears perfect, nose perfect...
My ears are very sharp. Somebody made fun of me and said I had ears like a dwarf.
One last question: Do you have a plan for a future? Like, five years of modeling and then a family and kids?
No, no, I have no plans, I told you before, I fly to LA on Monday and that's all I know, really.
She should burn those pants asap!
