I was anorexic. I was in hell. Now I eat what I want, and I'm still a model. So you see, it works.
Anorexia is a disease that happens to people, mostly women and girls, who have obsessive, perfectionist personalities.
We can always find each other, we girls with secrets.
Models walking down the street are very rarely recognized as such. It is often the same as it was for me: models were the school freaks. Way too thin and their eyes way too far apart. They were not the ideal. But then they put on fantastic clothes, have their make up done and you have this special beauty. It's a creation.
The girls everyone considers the "prettiest" are not always the most interesting or ambitious people.
Redken is a brand I've been using since I was a kid, my grandmother introduced it to me, my mother used it, so obviously I was very aware of the brand, so when I heard we were going to meet and potentially do something in the future, I was very excited.
I think there's a lot you can learn from everybody; everybody has a story and a strength within them.
I've been collecting crystals for many, many years for healing purposes and decoration. I guess since my name is Crystal, I have no choice.
I believe in trying foods from all over the world, going to markets and finding jewelry and furniture and just treating myself well. It's important for me creatively to travel.
I absolutely believe that when one goes on vacation, it should be pure decadence.
I'm very lucky that I have people styling my hair and teaching me how to work with it, but it wasn't always like that. Growing up, I had extremely wavy and thick hair and that can be very overwhelming - you end up with the same ponytail every day.
I want to be an actress when I'm on set, not just a model. Those are the moments I live for.
There are moments in your life where you're like I have arrived. I'm here and I'm living and I'm present. And working with Jean Paul Gaultier was one of them.
We're fighting a stigma: fat. People are really scared of fat. And I think we need to change people's minds and show that you can be bigger and you can be beautiful just as you are. It's about being and loving yourself and once I discovered that, life got much easier.
I just couldn't have people thinking that I only believe thin is beautiful. Thin is beautiful, but it's not the only kind of beautiful. I didn't want people to get the wrong message because of some retouching.
I have to say the thing that I want to do so badly is design a line. I still don't know exactly what direction I want to go but designing a line for full-figured women, offering them a chance to have chic clothing that's maybe a little more daring than the clothing they've been offered in the past, I would like the opportunity to create that for them. I'd also like to break into the beauty industry and be the face of a makeup line. I think for it sends a fantastic message: Here's the face of beauty and look, she's a bigger size.
That's what I stand for, telling people you can be just who you are. It's actually more beautiful.
