I just consider being one of the luckiest people in the sense that creativity came to me and it flowed.

Hair excited me. As the old ways - backcombing, rollers and rigidity - went out of the window, I started to feel the possibilities in front of my eyes.

For nine years I worked to change what was hairdressing then into a geometric art form with color, perm without setting which had never been done before.

Most people have excellent necks. Now they cover them with curtains, which is kind of ridiculous. But there are some beautiful necklines that you can cut into and create wonderful backs, as well as bone structure for the face.

I think that as good architecture enhances a city, a good cut enhances the definition and expression of a face.

So I was shampooing at 14. But I've always thought that had I the opportunity for an education, I would have been an architect. There's no question about it.

During the late '20s my father left us. My mother was in a complete hole with no money, and we were evicted.