Iman

“I was a very nerdy child. I never fit in, so I became laboriously studious.”

“After the bones mended, my left eye was smaller than my right, and my eyebrow never grew back. But you know what? Big deal. I think I became beautiful after the accident. I became kinder, more aware. I gained respect for other people.”

“Beauty is being comfortable and confident in your own skin.”

“There are highlights when you become irreplaceable as a model, like when you become a muse to designers. They look at you differently; you're not a coat hanger for hire.”

“Modeling gave me so many experiences, like traveling and being exposed to global cultures, but the most valuable lesson has been working with designers who truly are visionaries in their field.”

“I arrive in New York on October 15, 1975. On my own, by the way.”

“I have a certain manner of speech that is unique to me. I tried once to have my staff tweet for me, and it was a disaster! People knew right away that it wasn't me.”

“I was raised to treat my body as a temple, but even as a little girl, I had a major issue with self-esteem. I thought there was something wrong with the temple.”

“We are very private, so we decided from early on that we will keep the press and editors and everybody out of our house.”

“You want a career? Do that first. You don't want to have kids? Then don't. You don't want to get married? Then don't. But once you do something, you've got to know that there is compromise.”

“I have been a muse to Mr. Saint-Laurent, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Versace.”

“Life is too short not to have pasta, steak, and butter.”

“My ritual is cooking. I find it therapeutic. It comes naturally to me. I can read a recipe and won't have to look at it again.”

“The difference between rearing a child in your 20s and one in your 50s is one of patience.”

“If I feel frustrated in a situation, I take a deep breath and walk away.”

“I can enjoy what I'm engaged in and be fully present rather than planning my answers to questions while someone else is speaking or thinking about my next appointment while my current engagement is still in in progress.”

“My mother was an activist; so was my father. They came from a generation of young Somalis who were actively involved in getting independence for Somalia in 1960.”

“I was admittedly comfortable with Iman Cosmetics being identified as a beauty brand that filled the gap for black women because it was deeply personal for me.”

“Nobody has ever said to me that I was pretty, 'til I met Peter Beard.”

“As I always said: I fell in with David Jones. I did not fall in love with David Bowie.”