Marie Helvin Quotes

I don't have any children, but I can leave my land to an animal sanctuary. That is what I dream about, not bags, not shoes.

I'm slim for professional reasons, and I work at it. I really want to continue working. There aren't that many models who are still doing it at 60.

I don't do a lot of looking back; I tend to look ahead.

We don't do funerals in my family.

There are lots of things I won't eat but would like to, such as croissants or ice cream - if I started, I'd scoff the whole tub.

I don't particularly like children. That sounds awful, but I have nothing to say to them.

There are lots of things I would love to wear but wouldn't because I know they look stupid on me.

I am thrilled to be modelling the debut collection of Always Aliza. Janet Reger was such an iconic brand throughout my modelling career, and it feels great to now be modelling her daughter's range for JD Williams almost forty years on.

I'm 56 - I don't want to look like I'm 20.

When you live with a photographer, you never have a day off - it was a nightmare.

Sixties models knew nothing about skin care.

For most of us, no matter how slim, middle-aged spread really does set in, and your waist thickens, irrespective of whether you've had children or if you exercise regularly.

I was addicted to 'The Monkees' TV programme - not so much because of the music but because of the commercials in between. The programme was sponsored by Yardley, and in the commercial breaks, there would be these English girls on roller skates, wearing hot pants, and I just thought, 'God! How neat!'

Monogamy is not something that's important to me. I don't think it defines love.

As the years go by, you get to know yourself better and learn what works for you.

I've slipped enough times over the years to know the peril of a too-smooth sole, so every time I buy a new pair, I take a pair of scissors or a piece of sandpaper to the bottoms to roughen them up. In my catwalk days, I even used to spit on the soles of shoes before I ventured down the runway.

When I began modelling in my late teens, I started to earn a lot of money very, very quickly, but I'd never been shown how to manage it properly.

For me, my 50s was the decade when my tolerance for heels faded. I'm in good shape and, at 8 st. 3 lb., I'm still the same weight I was in my 30s, but as you get older, the weight of your body shifts somehow.

But I'd made up my mind early on in life that I never wanted to be a mother.

To be honest, the reason I have my cats is to force myself to think about something other than myself.

My sister Naomi and I always wanted to go to Tahiti. We planned a fantastic holiday to visit several islands, but at the last moment, Naomi cancelled. It was the first time I'd holidayed alone, and it was absolutely the best.

I don't wear mini-skirts or shorts because I have thread veins on my legs and cellulite, and I won't wear tights.

I sometimes overeat or drink too much, but I don't eat chocolate, and I gave up smoking when I was 39.

The fact is, after a certain age, high heels can feel as painful as someone sticking hot pins into the soles of your feet.

I think a mother needs to be with mothers. I don't know what they talk about.

I lost all my investments after everything crashed in 2001. Prior to that, I'd been living off the interest on my investments, which was very healthy because it allowed frequent travel, and I had a lovely apartment.

People were endlessly trying to set me up with 'eligible' men, and I enjoyed going on a galaxy of dates.

If I'm on holiday, I travel light, but if it is a work trip, I take everything but the kitchen sink.

The average British woman is a size 12 to 14, but in modelling, a size 12 is considered huge, which is ridiculous.

Fresh seafood reminds me of Hawaii and eating raw ahi fish on the beach with a little soy sauce - instant sashimi.

When I see images of a girl who is obviously far too thin, I am just as shocked as anyone else.

A secret control slip is a wonderful invention. It sculpts and lifts the bum and smooths the hips.

I always wear the same thing: a tight white shirt - I have about 50 - and tight black trousers.

There are loads of women that don't want children. What does it matter? I'm still a woman.

My life has been charmed in the sense that I've met some extraordinary people. But at the end of the day, when you go home and you go to bed, and if you're on your own, you never think of yourself in that way. I'm sure not even people like Angelina Jolie think like that.

I grew up in neighbouring Hawaii, where Tahiti is regarded as a brother.

I like naughty boys. I was married to David Bailey, who was one of the naughtiest. I like real men, and I like masculinity.

For modern fashion designers, bones are beautiful. I don't know why, but so many people are obsessed with the skeletal look.

I'm spoilt. I like my own space. I don't even own a microwave, and men don't like that. They want to be looked after.

I think I'm living in the wrong century. I would have made a great courtesan. Not a mistress - I could never be kept - but a courtesan with my own rules.

I was brought up by parents who embraced the 1960s and taught me that being faithful isn't the be-all and end-all.

I don't have children, and I'm not in a relationship, so I have the time to devote to myself.

A lot of women lose definition around their waist as they get older, which can mean their bottom half can look shapeless.

My livelihood depends on my surface beauty, but when I wash my face, I see a real person there.

Even in the early Eighties, when I was one of the most successful models in Britain, I didn't really have a voice. Time after time, when I should have spoken up, I simply walked away.

I had a very spoilt childhood. Not that my family were incredibly wealthy, but we lived on the beautiful island of Hawaii where everything was lush and in abundance.

Myself and my two younger sisters and brother were paid for any chores, whether it was washing pop's car, sweeping the lawn or picking mangoes.

I wasn't interested in having children of my own. I know what would have happened - I'd have been left at home to look after the kids, and my career would have been over while my husband travelled the world.

It would be nice to see a fashion range that is geared towards a vibrant, sexual, confident 50-something.

If you believe, as I do believe, in reincarnation, they say that every time you come back, it's because you have to finish something. I've a funny feeling that my thing in this life is to have one relationship after another.

My favourite scent ... changes every day. I have a cupboard full - so many I can't begin to tell you.

Not having alcohol has kept the weight off around my waist; my skin feels so much better, and I am sleeping really well.

I hate Botox, but a fabulous-looking friend of mine told me her secret was this gadget that uses electrical impulses to tone your facial muscles. It works!

I've never met a size zero person. Is Paris Hilton a size zero? I've met her. She looked very thin, but she looked very healthy. She had beautiful skin.

We are constantly driven to believe that women should look a set age or be a certain body size, which is fuelling an obsession with ever more dramatic and invasive steps.

I haven't eaten meat since I was 17, so I take Vitamin C, a B complex, Omegas-3-6-9, glucosamine, and antioxidants to make sure my body stays healthy.

I loved Le Taha'a private resort in Tahiti. It's accessible only by private boat or helicopter, and it sits on a tiny strip of land just big enough for one hotel. It's extraordinary and faces the Vanilla Island where Tahitians grow vanilla.

I lost count of how many times photographers and designers would tell me to lose a bit of weight, especially as I got a little older and my body started to develop.

The two times I have cut my hair shorter, I've ended up out of work - so short hair is not an option.

Surgery is not going to improve your skin - all it's going to do is make you look tighter, like Joan Rivers!

I've been lucky: my Japanese genes - from my mother's side - and a lifelong moisturising routine have helped keep me looking good.

As a girl, I lived in jeans, and my love-affair with them continues. Since I turned 50, jeans have become something of a uniform, whether it's a slouchy boyfriend fit for daytime or a leaner, fitted jean in a darker denim for evening.

My fashion icons are Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner. Their classic looks and clean lines should be the cornerstones of your wardrobe - white cotton shirts, black Capri pants, pencil skirts and ballerina skirts.

When you're a model, you learn how to make the most of your assets - in my case, the smallish behind that is the legacy of my half-Japanese heritage.

I have sun damage. I cover it up with make-up.

Although I eat healthily, I do enjoy a greasy fry-up, but usually only once a year. I've also got a big Kit-Kat addiction and buy them in bulk.