If I hadn't become a model I thought of doing many things. I wanted to be an archaeologist at one point, but I was a little kid. I wanted to be a social worker.
Amber VallettaAfter 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.
Amber VallettaI 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.
Amber VallettaI don't even know what would have happened to me had I not become a model. I don't know if I would have gotten out of Oklahoma. I was so young when things started happening for me and I realized I could make a living.
Amber VallettaI know that some of the spiritual beliefs that I have are that if I come from a place of love, and I try to get out of my ego and my desire to want more and be selfish in any shape or form, then whatever I'm doing is not good.
Amber VallettaOne of my half-sisters just couldn't deal with it. I think she saw me as someone she had a hard time relating to. We're super-close now, but I probably came home from Europe with weird opinions and attitudes and weird clothing. I probably looked so different to her, and I couldn't show up for things she would have liked me to. My life picked up speed, and I couldn't really stop the momentum.
Amber Valletta