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.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I know quite a few friends who are models, and they're usually really smart, sharp, world-savvy people.
Modeling is a lonely business.
Modeling is a profession where your worth is tied up with looks.
I think the only reason I wanted to do modeling, really, was because I knew I wasn't ready to act; I knew I didn't have enough life experience, and I knew that doing photo shoots was a way of acting. Playing a character each shoot and being able to just emerge yourself in these awkward experiences - it was amazing.
To me, it's a little odd to ever think 'model into actor.' I modeled once. I was about as far from a decent model as you can possibly be. I did not enjoy the world at all. I fell in my stilettos quite a bit.
Modeling is the world that I feel most welcome in.
There were a few models who used to stay close to my building. I used to admire them and tell my friends that I did. Those models told me get into modeling.
I never planned to be a model at all. I moved to Paris to study art, and I was there working as an artist, taking classes, and I had a little sick dog that I was using up all of my money to try and heal. It was right at that point that this photographer, Errol Sawyer, saw me at the phoning office and convinced me to let him take my photo.
I never thought of a career of as a model, and it was a total surprise for me when I won the contest and became Miss Chelyabinsk. Then I started modelling in Paris.
I've never hung around with any models. I've always hung around with my friends from school and kept myself to myself.