Christy

"I remember doing a shoot for Herb Ritts, hanging off the Eiffel Tower – that wasn't your usual day at the office. It was terrifying and in the end you couldn't really tell how high I was because the photographer was scared of heights so he was quite far away from me. It only happened rarely, but sometimes you did feel that you were contributing to a piece of art.""Getting older is baggage for so many people but I don't spend time on things I can't control. Wrinkles don't scare me; they're a part of life and I will and do embrace them, but I look at surgery and that scares me. Actually, I think there are more pressures on actresses these days than models – we're being celebrated for being older at the moment. I get asked to do campaigns all the time that aren't designed for a 41-year-old and I feel good about accepting those jobs.""The make-up, lighting and photographer turn you into a different person: I could never prefer that person, because that would be dangerous.""I had been a smoker in my teens and early twenties, but I wanted people to know what it was like to see someone you love die of lung cancer."When I was 18, and my looks were what I was – and all that I was – it did feel very limiting. It got to the point where I wondered what I was doing. But modelling gave me the kind of confidence that a lot of girls in their teenage years don't have. In the end, I think that the industry saved me from having to be self-conscious.""There's nothing rewarding about modelling. It was a fun opportunity that allowed me to see the world but spiritually and intellectually there is nothing rewarding about the profession at all. A lot more positive things than negative came out of it and I'm proud that I'm still working now, whenever it makes sense. (The supermodels) were this oddity that occurred in pop culture at that time. But I don't think we created anything; I think we just happened to be there at that moment. And look at Kate: I met her when I was 18. Her father worked for Pan Am and so did mine, so we had that in common. She was always funnier than everyone else, and savvy. What has kept her going all this time is the fact that nothing takes her over; it's she who takes over.""Because I'm not very glamorous it didn't feel true to me. I relate far more to the fashion of today than the Chanel miniskirts and Versace jackets of that time. Plus, having to wear all that make-upe_SLps what a waste! Cindy was much more that kind of persona; I don't think the 'sexy girl' thing is my image at all – I get more attention from females."
(The Steven Meisel pictures are from Vogue Italia August. The quotes are from the Telegraph interview by Celia Walden)