Yahoo Lifestyle Frankly Speaking With Robyn Lawley
The November issue of marie claire with Robyn Lawley on the cover.
Jackie: When did the idea of modelling come into focus?
Robyn: My sister wanted me to model when I was a child, but I just didn't think that would happen. Then when I became a teenager, around 14 or 15, everyone started suggesting it because I was tall and that's what tall girls do, I suppose.
Jackie: What kind of pressure did you feel back then?
Robyn: When you first consider the idea of modelling, you automatically think you have to be really skinny. I was really into fashion, so I knew models were about half the size I was. When I went to see the agencies, my weight was always an issue, so I took it upon myself to start losing it. Everyone around me accepted that, because [they] also thought, well, Robyn wants to be model and she could be a successful model, so it's natural she has to lose weight.
Jackie: How did that affect your self-esteem?
Robyn: At that age it was really hard to have that extra pressure to lose, not just a little amount of weight, but a lot. I had a lot of issues with it.
Jackie: What was it that made you turn around and say I'm not going to try to be a size 0?
Robyn: I had a moment when I was about 16. One of my Russian model friends was painfully thin and we went to a cafe after a casting. I was trying not to eat at the time, but I was really struggling and I was, like, I have to go to a cafe! I have to eat! I just got a salad [but] she didn't eat anything. I thought it was just so messed up. I was worried about her health.
[Many models] get measured when they go into an agency, and if they gain weight, they are out. People don't understand what starvation can do to you.
To read the rest of our interview with Robyn – in which she talks about her partner, politics, her passion for food and the best advice she's ever received – pick up the November issue of marie claire.
Photo: Cy Karrat.
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