Coco Rocha

“I was once dressed as a mermaid for a Jean Paul Gaultier show. My legs were bound into a fish tail, so I had to come down the runway on crutches. Halfway down, I was supposed to unzip the fish tail to reveal my legs, but the zipper broke, so I ended up stabbing my fake nail through the fabric of the zipper and ripping my way out.”

“In ten years of modeling, I've trained myself to relax and be able to use my upper body.”

“If you're posting pictures to platforms like Instagram or Twitter, be selective about the one you post. If I'm capturing a sunset, I'll take at least 10 pictures. I'll then filter them using other apps, enhance them. Then, I really pick the best image of perhaps 30.”

“Connecting with fans is very important to me and useful, too! It's almost as if I have my own focus group. If I put up one picture that gets 1,000 likes and one that gets 15,000 likes, it gives me a big clue as to what people like to see.”

“If it weren't for my Irish dancing, I wouldn't be modeling.”

“My mom's half-Irish, and my dad's half-Irish. We don't know much about my mom's side, but my dad's mom came from Belfast and married my grandfather, who was from Wales.”

“I love modeling, and I want other girls to enjoy the experience.”

“Oftentimes, my career as a model is based around glamour or creating a fantasy world. That in itself is not a bad thing, as I think art and inspiration has its place in society.”

“I'm kind of getting over the whole Manhattan life. I'm from Vancouver, and that means mountains and a lot of space.”

“Usually, a model gets two to three seasons, or a year and a half, and that's it - you're done. For me, it will be 10 years.”

“Having worked with many of the world's top modeling agencies for the last decade, I've seen what works and doesn't work in managing a model's career.”

“Fashion can be a very fickle lady, especially when it comes to models - fashion likes to turn on its own.”

“A lot of people might think the job of a model isn't necessary anymore, but just like an actor, singer - how they make you feel a certain way - how watching a dancer gives you emotion, models can do the exact same thing to many different people.”

“When someone tells me that I'm not real, I say to them, 'Well, what about me isn't real?' I have not changed my figure. This is who I am.”

“Models are supposed to be a muse to you. Why is a muse always the same body type, the same look? It's boring.”

“If you think of any past artist, there was something that they looked at that inspired them to make their most famous pieces, whether it be the 'Mona Lisa' or 'Venus Rising.'”

“I don't do nudes. I don't do semi-nudes. I don't do cigarette shots. It took me a long time in the business to realize I didn't have to do everything people told me I should if I wanted a career.”

“Having good style really just means having a decisive eye and being able to put things together in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It's not a matter of spending a lot of money and throwing it all together.”

“I think, in general, models tend to do their favorite faces or their comfortable face, but your facial expression is just so important. You don't want to have an editorial of 20 photos where it's just you giving a 'Zoolander' face.”

“I think there can no longer be such a thing as hitting a wall on a photo shoot. If I ever hear a photographer say to me, 'OK, what else?' I should retire, because that should never happen now having experienced just how much the body is capable of doing.”