Ines Rivero

Photographs by Antoine Verglas

Where you’ve seen her:
In modeling campaigns for the likes of Victoria’s Secret, H&M, Cover Girl, and the Gap.

The air up there:
“I was taller before anybody else, so I always looked awkward when I was a kid. But things got better when I got older. When I’d wear a miniskirt, the reactions changed from ‘What an odd girl!’ to ‘Hey, look at those legs!’”

Youth gone wild:
“I was 17 when I landed in Tokyo. I ate rice for six months because I couldn’t afford steak. Tough times. Then I went to Paris, where I could eat a half-dozen croissants a day because I burned it all off working. I had no life—I probably slept three hours a day. But I wanted to work with the best and see if I could make it.”

Sounds dangerous:
“I think women are very lucky. We can get away with a lot more than men can just because we’re women. Beautiful women can do anything. They can get into clubs. They can get tables in good restaurants. And best of all, they can get any man.”

June 2002 (#54)