Amanda de Cadenet

“I was in so much emotional pain as a young girl that whatever distracted me from how I felt about myself was fine by me.”

“Understanding money is part of being independent. You can't be self-sufficient if you're relying on someone else.”

“I'm really interested in older women, to be honest, because they have lived a life that I've not yet lived. So I really want to learn from them, and I think culturally we tend to dispose of women once they get to a certain age and they don't look a certain way.”

“Learning how to have 'healthy' attachments sounds easy, but in fact, for someone like me who had damaged early relationships, it's like learning to be fluent in Chinese.”

“I was about 15 years old, and I needed a job, and somebody I know - I don't even know who it was - said that there was a television show that needed a presenter and that I should go and audition for it, so I did. That was a show called 'The Word,' and I got that job.”

“From 12-year-old girls to 70-year-old matriarchs, I know hundreds of women who have some sort of body image issue. This is sad and seriously worrying, but it's true, and it's why I feel some kind of social responsibility to do what I can to show a variety of body types in fashion magazines.”

“As a photographer, there are times when I have to decide if it's appropriate to invade a moment with my camera.”

“By age 19, I was married to a high-profile, much older musician and was mother to a baby girl. Since then, I've been divorced, been a cheater, been cheated on, gotten happily remarried, and raised a couple of great kids.”

“Stay away from other people's partners.”

“I was put in White City children's home when I was 15.”

“Freedom is... not to be bound by my wounds. And to be able to eat cake every day.”

“I share personal things about myself in the context of my interviews and in 'It's Messy' - but that's 20 percent of my life.”

“I've been privileged to be able to be a part of some of my girlfriends' lives at their breaking points.”

“I'd personally like to see more 'real bodies' in magazines.”

“It doesn't matter how many people adore you or how skinny, successful, smart, talented, funny, kind, or compassionate you are. None of it matters if you don't see your wonderful self.”

“I think that the friendship that women share is so powerful. In fact, there's nothing quite like it. People talk about mother-child bonds, but I would argue that female friendship bond is also in a league unto its own.”

“While Jane Fonda has no shortage of knowledge to share, I was particularly moved and fascinated by her recovery from bulimia, which she battled with for over 25 years.”

“My daughter gave me a whole new perspective.”

“If we remove all judgment and preconceived ideas of who a person is, the truth is, we are all blessed with the same emotions and desires.”

“I had lived with abuse for many years, but the worst abuse has been at my own hands and the appalling situations I have tolerated.”