Daria Werbowy (Ukrainian: Дарія Вербова, Dariya Verbova; born November 19, 1983) is a Ukrainian-Canadian model. She is a spokesperson for the French brand Lancôme.
I'm not a big planner when I travel; I just feel it out.
Words are difficult and photography takes the words away from things. It's difficult to talk about something that seems to come very naturally to you, to explain a process. A moment is really difficult to put on paper.
And of course there is nothing better than wearing the same T-shirt for days and not brushing my hair for weeks.
I like terrifying. Modeling's terrifying to a lot of people too. Standing in front of a camera is terrifying. I like a challenge. Sailing really forces you to be present and in the moment. You kind of forget about the bullshit of life. Your thoughts go away because you're focused on making sure everything's working. I like being in that place.
Sometimes I am still surprised that I'm a model and that people think I'm good-looking. I've gone through a lot of different phases on what I do and why I do it - morally and ethically. I've tortured myself about it, especially in dealing with success and money. I just had to learn to look at it as a job, as opposed to identifying myself as a model and thinking of myself as a part of this industry. I just thought, Okay, this is an opportunity to learn and see and meet people. Still, I am a Scorpio and I'm quite competitive.
I grew up in a sailing family. My dad lived for sailing, and when we moved to Canada when I was a child, he really wanted us to learn.
Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anyone who really took me under their wing. You get advice from everyone. Kate Moss once said to me, "Don't worry about the past, just keep going. " That has always sort of stuck with me.
Sailing really forces you to be present and in the moment. You kind of forget about the bullshit of life. Your thoughts go away because you're focused on making sure everything's working. I like being in that place.
The thought of attention made me want to hide in a closet. I wasn't a kid who liked attention. I liked solitude and I still kind of do.
Of course, there are days when you're not feeling your best and you still have to stand up there and it can be difficult. But those days pass and you move on.
Modeling's terrifying to a lot of people. Standing in front of a camera is terrifying. I like a challenge.
I've gone through a lot of different phases on what I do and why I do it - morally and ethically. I've tortured myself about it, especially in dealing with success and money.
When I was a kid, I was always around boys. I was always trying to keep up with boys - skateboarding and snowboarding. If my brother was mowing the lawn, I had to mow the lawn. If my brother was using a hammer, I needed to use a hammer. I've always been a little bit of a feminist.
I remember one of the first things Helmut Newton on one of his last shoots, in 2004, said was that he couldn't believe how thin I was. He was like, "Whatever happened to women?" He also made me wear rubber nipples. It was amazing to be in a situation where you have to create but you don't feel any pressure. He had such confidence that it made things really easy. There's a natural sort of process of something coming to life, which I really liked. It was like, "We're here, and let's make you lay on a bed of nails. " But it didn't seem contrived or overly thought-out. It was easy.