When I was 13, my mom checked me into a modeling agency. Then, out of nowhere, they asked me to audition for a TV show, which I did, and I got going from there.
It's hard to appreciate success in modeling, because it's not something you feel like you've earned, so there is a little bit of bread of shame that comes with that. It's like somebody giving you a puzzle that's already put together.
I was modeling since I was four and acting in commercials since I was five - this was when I was in New York. I then moved to LA when I was 16... but before that I had done a play on Broadway.
I had been taking acting classes on and off while I was modeling, so I always had a dream to be in a film.
I had dropped out of school and was a runaway, so I didn't have family to fall back on if I didn't work. I didn't have a lot of other options of making money other than modeling.
Luckily, I'm doing other things besides just modeling, because frankly, I'm a little bored with it.
You know one of the things about going from modeling to acting is it's so much more fulfilling. With modeling, you get your picture taken, which is great, good for you, you know? But in acting, you're able to reach in and show a little bit more of yourself.
The industry has died as far as modeling has gone, and I'll tell you why. Magazines are featuring the Halle Berrys and Sarah Jessica Parkers, all the actresses. Makeup companies are featuring all the celebrities. All the models have died.
I had no idea what modeling entailed and what an agency was. It was crazy. As I continued to do it, it was fun for me to learn everything from A to Z.
I was inspecting eyeglass lenses for a while. And I worked as a concession girl in a movie theater. And I was ironing before that. I always had some kind of a job. And then I started modeling.
My younger years of modeling were really just filled with fun trips. I was doing catalogues for Alexander's and Bloomingdale's.
Modern women are just bombarded. There's nothing but media telling us we're all supposed to be great cooks, have great style, be great in bed, be the best mothers, speak seven languages, and be able to understand derivatives. And we don't really have women we're modeling after, so we're all looking for how to do this.
Modeling was a way of financing my fighting. My fighter friends definitely made fun of me: 'I've seen you in your underwear, bro!' But once they realized the girls loved it, they asked, 'How do I get into it?'
A Latin teacher told me I might make a good actress, and that stuck in my memory. I did some modeling, and Polanski gave me that small part.
Gromit was the name of a cat. When I started modeling the cat I just didn't feel it was quite right, so I made it into a dog because he could have a bigger nose and bigger, longer legs.
Modeling was not an endgame for me. I didn't particularly enjoy the act of it.
People always ask me if I'm going to stop modeling because I have started an acting career. I hope to continue to model for years to come.
Modeling isn't really a tough job. Acting is much harder: so much prep and changing your look and mannerisms. It's a more difficult lifestyle being a model. I traveled all the time. Although, now I wonder, because I travel all the time for acting, too. So they both have their difficulties.
I just decided to take some time off. I've been modeling since '93, '92, and that's a pretty long time. I'm a single mother and I chose to focus on her.
I'd rather just be who I am and get the kind of movies that I want or the kind of modeling jobs I want based on who I am, really.
If each of your time steps is one week long, you are not modeling the stock price terribly well over a one-week time period, because you are saying that there are only two possible outcomes.
I love acting. I do it as a hobby. If I was able to have that as a career... Hopefully the fashion thing is a stepping-stone. I was so worried when I started modeling that it would hinder my chances of acting.
When I started modeling, it was like, 'Oh, she's too dark,' and I kind of looked at them like, 'You're too daft.'
Modeling is the best because you have to look hot, which comes easy to me, you know. I'm blessed with that.
I think I've learned a lot just from being in the industry in general, and I never really thought about what to put in my hair to get a perfect beach wave until I started modeling. People will use certain products on me, and I learn that way.
I put my money in the bank: I have to think of life after modeling, when I'm not famous any more.
I also want to get out there in the world and do some acting and fashion and modeling.
I was discovered by Paul Marciano of Guess when I was actually, like, two years old. And so I started with Baby Guess; I did Guess Kids, and then I stopped because I was a really competitive horseback rider and a club volleyball player. I went to Junior Olympic qualifiers for volleyball. So, I kind of stopped modeling.
There was really no friendship in modeling, though a certain amount of warmth comes from running into models you know on shoots, because you end up in so many unfamiliar places, from Alaska to Africa.
I think modeling is interesting because every season, what the modeling world finds beautiful changes. Like Kate Moss, she was 5'6" and was so thin and had no curves, and that was in for a while.
When I went back to modeling, nobody knew how to deal with a 46-year-old model!
Modeling is a great beginning, but it's also a kind of trap if you have any ambition or a mind that needs to be stimulated.
I try not to think about anyone's expectations but rather focus on always doing my personal best. Modeling was never a thought in my mind growing up, but my mom felt it was important for me to be open to business opportunities and expand my horizons.
People think modeling's mindless, that you just stand there and pose, but it doesn't have to be that way. I like to have a lot of input. I know how to wear a dress, whether it should be shot with me standing or sitting.
I found going to school when I was modeling very grounding. It's really kept my perspective on bigger things in my life.
I went to the Professional Children's School in New York, and I started modeling because I could do that until I actually figured out what I wanted to do, and it gave me the opportunity to travel.
