Quotes from Marie Helvin

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 love fashion, but I don't really do shopping.

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

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.

When you've been touched by sadness and grief, it makes you vulnerable. And because I am vulnerable, I try to be positive. And when I say 'try,' I really do mean try, because it's an effort.

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

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.

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'm not bothered about clothes. Never have been.

I'm not a pretty-boy kind of a girl; the Brad Pitts don't do anything for me.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Cheating is never to do with how attractive you are.

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

I don't see myself as the next Carmen Dell'Orefice. I'd rather be fat and happy, sitting on a beach in Hawaii eating pizza.

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.

I can't stand small babies. I would rather give birth to a kitten or a colt... a little pony.

I'm known for my big hair and curls.

I go to the gym four times a week for 45 minutes to an hour without fail; I like using weights for muscle tone and the bike and rower for my heart rate. I do quite a lot of floor exercises.

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