After the first summer modeling, I came home with almost as much money as my mom made in a year - after being away for about two months. I just decided to give it a shot, and if it didn't work, I was going to go to college.

I definitely think that being a model makes it more difficult to be taken seriously. And I understand. I don't take it seriously sometimes.

I realized that being present for loved ones who are dying or aging is one of the greatest honors and gifts in my life. We are quite small in the big scheme of things.

It was hard to be taken seriously being model-turned-actress. I needed to work on my acting chops. There are so few parts available that are good for women.

I knew I liked art. I knew I liked photography. I remember seeing photos of Linda Evangelista in Italian Vogue as a teenager, and at the time I didn't know who she was. There were two photos - one shot by Fabrizio Ferri and another one by Steven Meisel. I didn't know who any of those people were. I think it was the first summer I was modeling, I saw these magazines sitting out and looked at them. I remember thinking, These are the kind of images I want to make.

I feel like I've gotten whatever was meant to come to me and I feel really blessed.

I wish the word supermodel would just fall off the face of the earth. Anyone can be a supermodel now.