I dream of a world liberated of all diseases. Ignorance also upsets me a lot. How can one calmly look at the pictures from Rwanda and not instantly want to take action and try to ease the suffering?

Well, when I started modeling in the mid-'80s, the girls who did shows did shows, and the girls who did magazines did magazines. That's what was understood.

Feeling passionate about something doesn't mean you have to be angry.

My mum [who has breast cancer] is a fighter. I've got that from her, I know she's a fighter.

In fact, I don't read newspapers any longer.

After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela.

Patrick Demarchelier was the one who got me my first Vogue cover. It was French Vogue - I think in ’87 or ’88. I think I was the first black model to be on the cover of French Vogue, which was shocking to me because when I asked them about it, they were like, "Oh, no. We’ve never had that before."