# Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum (born 1 June 1973) is a German model, actress, TV presenter, fashion designer, television producer and singer.

## Quotes

* In this job an illusion of beauty is sold which doesn’t really exist like that. It’s like a work of art, an act. I cry in front of the camera but am not really sad. I’ve just come from a job, am made-up and made to look beautiful with fantastic clothes and hair and nails all done.
** Interview in Der Spiegel (10 February 2006)
* When I saw him, I was like, wow! He is different and so tall and dark and just handsome. I saw the package — and I mean the whole package, literally. I was like, "That is a man."
** On her husband, Seal, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, as quoted in "Heidi Klum's Risqué Story of Falling for Seal" by Mike Fleeman in People (24 October 2007)
* I have the most romantic husband. I do.
** On her husband, Seal, as quoted in "Heidi Klum's Risqué Story of Falling for Seal" by Mike Fleeman in People (24 October 2007)
* I know a lot of people talk about Seal's bicycle shorts, but it is the truth! That is what he was wearing the first time I met him and I was overwhelmed.
** As quoted in "Heidi Klum: No Regrets About Risqué Oprah Interview" by Samantha McIntyre and Oliver Jones in People (27 October 2007)
* I just think if you have an emotion and you let that go that moment might pass. If you don't open the door for the person to come in, it would have just been like, "Nice to meet you — goodbye."
** As quoted in "Heidi Klum: No Regrets About Risqué Oprah Interview" by Samantha McIntyre and Oliver Jones in People (27 October 2007)
* My parents were free about nudity, and we are too. I’d like our children to feel unashamed of whatever shape they are. People should worry about other things.
** Quoted in InStyle (September 2007)
* We went somewhere very nice for dinner — it was very good but I can't tell you exactly what we did. It would be too naughty and you can’t run it anyway. It would just be bloop bleep bloop bloop bleep. But it was a very good first date.
** On her first date with Seal, quoted by Hollie McKay in "Heidi Klum's 'Naughty' First Date With Seal"
* Sexy for me is a curvy woman — doesn't have to be skinny, which I hate anyway. I'm glad [the fashion industry] is changing slowly a little bit now to get more into the boobs and hips again.
** In an interview for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Special 1998.
* For me the most important thing was always that you have something in mind that you want to do, that you enjoy doing, because a lot of people have a job, but they're not happy. I think you have to think about what it is you really want to do in life and pursue that, and do it with fun; have a smile on your face, because then you're happy. You're happy and you can be open, you can be nice with people, and you have a different appearance and feeling of life than when you are in a job you hate. So for me that was always the most important thing.
** Quoted by Bethanne Patrick for AOL Books in 2006.
* I think that everybody is beautiful in his or her own way. If you smile a lot and are confident, then you are a gorgeous person. I don't know whether my looks come from God. I'm not really religious. I don't really know what I am. I'm just trying to be a good person. I am who I am.
** Answering the question, "Why did God make some people more gorgeous than others?" as quoted by The Independent (UK) 19 February 2004.
* I have a woman's body: I have hips, I have boobs, I have a butt. There is nothing I can change about those things even if I lose weight. You have to learn to accept your body and like your body. But, it's true, when I started modeling people were always telling me that I had to change. They told me to cut my hair because long hair is not versatile enough. And they gave me this stuff to put in my water. They said: "Drink this and then you won't be so hungry, dah-dee-dah-dee-dah..." I said: "OK, great," but I never took any of it.
** Discussing the pressure to be thin in the modeling industry, as quoted by The Independent (UK) 19 February 2004.
* I think that you have to do whatever feels good for you. As a woman, you should feel glamorous, beautiful and confident. You should be unique. For me, if something doesn't move you in that direction, then why do it? I have considered doing Playboy. I have had offers on the table many times. But then, it has to work the way I want it to. I mean, I have no problem being naked at all — I come from a place where I am used to running around naked. But you still have to feel confident and beautiful about it, and I had a checklist of how I wanted certain things and they wanted other things, so in the end, we didn't agree.
** Answering the question, "Would you describe yourself as a feminist? Have you ever refused a modelling job because it was too demeaning to women?", as quoted by The Independent (UK) 19 February 2004.
* In Germany—and this started with a newspaper headline — they call us “the Patchwork Family.” I was, like, Hmm, is this an insult or is this positive? I talked to Seal about it, and we’re, like, it’s actually kind of great — we’re all different shades and we came together and we all love each other. They may call it black and white, but I’m not white, I’m a shade of brown and so is our daughter, Leni. She’s the lightest, then it’s me, then it’s our son, and then it’s Seal. So I think, Hey, it’s actually kind of nice to have a 'patchwork family.'
** Quoted by Brantley Bardin for Life in 2007.
* I jumped into the water with 45 sharks without a cage in the Bahamas for a Discovery Channel show. That was a really good experience. I'm not saying that everyone should swim with sharks, but sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow in order to learn something that you will never forget for the rest of your life. Then you know you can conquer your fears.
** Quoted in Parade Magazine 10 July 2008.
* Fashion shows have never been my thing. I don't look thin enough for the runway. The other girls were always much taller and skinnier. But I've never starved myself or done crazy things just to be thin like a rail.
** Quoted in Parade Magazine 10 July 2008.
* People in the business always say, "You look fabulous." You get that all the time and it kind of goes in one ear and out the other because most of the time they just say that to make you feel good. It's nice when you hear it from an ordinary person and then I appreciate it.
** Quoted in Parade Magazine 10 July 2008.
* I'm a very driven person. I'm always going after my goals. You just get up in the morning and kick yourself in the butt. I'd like to show people that they can have that same drive to go where they want to go. It's up to you and not to anybody else.
** Quoted in Parade Magazine 10 July 2008.
* I always think, Look at how people were before they were pregnant. If you were a toned, healthy, energetic person, most likely you will be like that again. A lot of people come to me, and they’re like, "Will I look like you after I have the baby?" And I say, "Well, how were you before?" You can’t kid yourself.
** Quoted by Chris Connelly in Marie Claire May 2008.
* If you love what you do, you can balance and you can juggle (work and family). You have to set your priorities straight. You can't just work, work, work. Because then all of a sudden, you don't have a family...then why did you work so much when you're all by yourself in the end? So for me, I always wanted to have a family, for me that was the most important thing, and I found a man that wanted to have that with me.
** From an interview for Entertainment Tonight 5 November 2008
* [In America] people are a little bit more scared to show their bodies. I grew up different. Nudity was a common thing. We went camping on nude beaches in Italy. When my parents were still sleeping, I'd just go outside and run to the beach without anything on.
** Quoted by Eric Thurnauer for Stuff Magazine (November/December 1998)
* My philosophy is that, in life, you have to want something. If you just say "la-la-la" and go through life without a goal, nothing will happen.
** Quoted by Eric Thurnauer for Stuff Magazine (November/December 1998)
* I know from people I work with, that people say "I want to have Heidi’s career," and my friends are like, "but she also works very hard." It's the truth! It's not as if I sit back and watch things fly onto my plate. I went for a lot of the things. (Success) doesn't happen by waiting for things to happen because there are other people who are hungry. The early bird catches a worm.
** Quoted by InStyle December 2008
* I dont think it makes a difference if you have children or you don't have children. I think it's all in the head about how you feel and, I don't know, I always like to be active and work out and eat right and just be active so I never see it as, oh when you're a mom you can't be sexy or you cant be in lingerie anymore looking good.
** Discussing modeling lingerie at age 35, quoted by Megan Glaros, WCBS-TV, 3 December 2008
* A size zero? I've never heard of that. That didn't exist when I was growing up. When did that start? What does it mean? It means a person is not there, no? It makes no sense.
** Discussing vanity sizing and the size 0 debate. Quoted by Asian News International, 20 March 2009.
* Modelling is a job. For girls who want to be successful it's not something they should approach lightly. You should be professional, show up on time, prepare, and earn your money. Girls should also be aware of what they're expected to do at a photo shoot in terms of nudity, since there is often that kind of pressure — especially when you're just starting out and trying to make your mark. I also tell them they have to get a thicker skin. You have to handle criticism. All that stuff. A lot of people are looking at you and judging you. That's the nature of the job.
** Quoted by New Weekly, ninemsn Australia, 19 April 2009
* For me, life is about enjoying yourself because you only live once. We should try to make the most of things and follow our dreams.
** Quoted by New Weekly, ninemsn Australia, 19 April 2009
* I always treated modeling as a business and I've always been very organized. From the very start, I would keep clippings of my magazine spreads and ask my agency to find out where my photo shoots were being published. I also think I had an advantage in that I was more centered and wasn't into partying and living the high life. I had fun, but I was reasonable about it!
** Quoted by New Weekly, ninemsn Australia, 19 April 2009
* I'm never uncomfortable being naked. I don't have a problem with my body.
** Interview with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood, 16 April 2009
* I don’t know why he said that. Maybe he wanted to be in the paper? Maybe he doesn’t understand what I do? It’s bizarre to me that he says he doesn’t know who I am because he’s dressed me in the past. I’ve worn Karl Lagerfeld. Not even Chanel—his line. Lagerfeld doesn’t just send random things everywhere, so it was a big thing for me [to wear his label] to the CFDA Awards a few years ago. I don’t know how he missed that, when he dressed me that time. But you know, it’s cool. People can say whatever they want to say. You can’t please everybody, and you can’t live your life wanting to please everybody either.
** Responding to Karl Lagerfeld's insult that Heidi Klum is unknown in the high fashion world. Quoted in Page Six Magazine, 10 September 2009.
* You have to just do your thing. As long as you don't hurt anybody along the way.
** Discussing dealing with criticism. Quoted in Page Six Magazine, 10 September 2009.
* You can’t look at Hollywood and blame it, you have to make up your own mind whether you want to be fit, or super skinny. You can’t blame other people. It’s your own choice and if you have children, it is up to the parent to educate your children so they are healthy and they don’t go into a direction of anorexia or obesity. It is up to you as a parent, it is hard to feed children right. I deal with it on a daily basis; it is much harder to make sure they eat right.
** Discussing the pressure to be thin. Quoted by Hollie McKay for Fox News, 30 September 2009.
* Nowadays children look at everyone in the magazines and they want to be a basketball star or on a television show, but there is only so many people who can do those things and not that you shouldn’t aim or dream for these things, but there are so many other fantastic jobs. So it’s good to talk about how to get there and how difficult it is to get there.
** Quoted by Hollie McKay for Fox News, 30 September 2009.
* I think if you put a smile on people's faces, they give that back to you.
** Interview on The Early Show, December 2004.
* I told Seal pretty early. He was there from the very beginning. He's always been Dad.
** On telling Seal that she was pregnant with her first daughter, Leni, from Flavio Briatore, as quoted by Jennifer Weiner for InStyle magazine (February 2010)
* If we don't take that time (to be romantic), then it's karate, then it's ballet, and then there's Christmas, and then my husband is flying off to tour around the world.
** Discussing staying romantic in a marriage with children. Quoted by Jennifer Weiner in InStyle, February 2010.
* Models have a sell-by date. There are certain jobs I don't do anymore, like the young, sexy, cute things for teenagers, or even 25-year-old girls. I go in a different bracket now.
** Quoted by Jennifer Weiner in InStyle, February 2010.
* They're photographs by Adam Fuss. He's an artist. They are beautiful, artistic photos - more silhouettes than anything else. It's not like, "Hey, Mom and Dad are naked, come check it out!" But if I go to the bathroom and my kid walks in, I'm not going to be like, "Oh my God! Close the door!" They see their parents naked all the time. We are not ashamed.
** Admitting that there are nude photographs of herself and Seal hanging in their bedroom and bathroom. Quoted by Jennifer Weiner in InStyle, February 2010.
* My lifestyle is very healthy. I eat very healthy and we cook at home. We don't eat out a lot, we don't go out for fast food a lot -- and it's the same with the children. I'm a pain in the butt with my children. I want them to eat right. They hate me for it a lot of times, but I don't want to make my life easy and skip those roles that I feel like I have to have as a mother.
** Interview with Stylelist.com, 10 February 2010.
* I don’t think that it's like an obligation because you are known or anything like that. But if I was Heidi Klum still living in Bergisch Gladbach, no one would listen to me, and no one would care. So I think that it’s great that because of what I do I can raise awareness. You know, I would still want to do it if I was still in my hometown. It’s just that no one would care.
** Discussing her charity work with iVillage, 11 February 2010.
* In terms of being naked, I'm not very prudish.
** Interview with PopEater.com, 12 February 2010.
* When I won the competition, I had just been offered a job as a designer in Düsseldorf, so that’s probably what I’d be doing now. It can be fascinating to consider how your life might have turned out, like in the movie Sliding Doors, but I’m too busy to look back.
** Discussing what she would have done if she didn't win a modeling contest at age 19. Quoted by Elisabeth Braw, Metro World News, Canada.
* I think my business is about people making you feel self-conscious. All eyeballs are on you when you're a model, when you're on the runway or in front of the camera, you're always looked up and down and back up, so that comes with the territory. But at the end of the day I feel like my parents gave me a good solid foundation. I know who I am and there are things I wouldn't do. I wouldn't starve myself, I also never wanted to chop my hair off when people said I should do this and I should do that. And I always knew who I was and said they're going to book me like this or not book me. I don't want to be a role model because I'm just a person too, so I can have mistakes and some people don't like what I do. People always push this role model thing on you. I just want to be a good role model for my children.
** Interview with Huffington Post, 19 March 2010
* Because of my job, I learned to be confident a little earlier than most. People pick you apart when you're in the public eye - you're wearing the wrong shoes or you have ugly nail polish on or they're wondering if you got your boobs done - so you have to be a strong person right away.
** Interview by Kate Sullivan for Allure, April 2010
* I've never gone on a diet to lose weight. I have taken a few things out of my diet, like pasta and white bread, which are not so necessary for the body. Right now I'm looking at apple strudel and brownies with whipped cream. Do I want to eat all that? Yes. I've been wanting it all day but I'm not going to do it. I'll have something else.
** Interview by Kate Sullivan for Allure, April 2010
* I am not that person who walks in a room with my nose in the sky. I smile at people when I meet them, and I like photos of me when I'm smiling because they show my personality. I am always trying to have fun.
** Interview by Kate Sullivan for Allure, April 2010
* My mom gave me a lot of advice. I would say the biggest advice is to always have fun. Treat people well, have respect for everybody and, therefore, you will be respected. Have fun in your life!
** Interview with Modelinia.com, May 2010
* I learned from working in the fashion world that if I have a day when I feel slapped in the face, or if someone has been mean, I just have to get back up and it will be another day. I think about what I'm grateful for. I look at my kids and my husband and think, Wow, I'm a really lucky person.
** From Self Magazine, December 2010
* The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin! When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by 5 or 10 years. I don't think of getting older as looking better or worse; it's just different. You change, and that's OK. Life is about change. I don't have anxiety about it, so I'm not running to get Botox. Maybe that will change, but I don't think so. I feel comfortable in my skin and comfortable with aging, so I think it's OK that I get wrinkles.
** From Self Magazine, December 2010
* I never really have any major resolutions. I do try to be a good person, to be a good mom, to be a good wife, I don't really start the year off on January 1, 'Oh, I am now going to make a big change.' I try every day when I wake up to be good to the people around me.
** Discussing New Year's resolutions. From The Morning Call, 5 January 2011
* The trick is that you have to stay naked. You must be naked.
** Discussing the secret to a successful relationship to Ryan Seacrest at the 2011 Grammy Awards.
* A pair of black Louboutin's... and that's it!
** Answering the question, "What would you wear on a desert island if your husband came to visit?" in Lucky Magazine, March 2011
* If you pick something you actually enjoy doing, you have fun every day of your life.
** Quoted by The Denver Post, 9 June 2011
* Ask me again when I'm 65, but I'm proud to be able to say, in this day and age, I haven't done anything. Everyone has a view of what's pretty and what's not pretty, and it just doesn't look pretty to me.
** Discussing plastic surgery, as quoted in Allure Magazine, May 2012
* I was too curvy and too busty and a little too short. And I was a little bit self-conscious about it. But I was by no means heavy, I just — well, you have hips and boobs, and that's it. Haute couture, you don't really see girls with big boobs. And I always wanted first to be a model. So I had to say, "OK, you're going to find other things to do in this industry, or it's maybe not my industry."
** Discussing being rejected at the beginning of her modeling career, as quoted in Allure Magazine, May 2012
* I think you just have to be comfortable in your skin. But, I'm a nudist in any case. I've never had a problem with my body and I don't really care what people think, so I have bottoms on and pretty much go topless, or also when we shoot - we did a lot of nude pictures today, too - it doesn't bother me in the slightest.
** Discussing her ease with nude photo shoots, as quoted in Allure Magazine, May 2012
* Have fun—a smile is the most beautiful thing on a woman.
** Discussing her beauty philosophy, as quoted by Prevention Magazine, April 2014

## External links

* Official website
* Heidi Klum at Fashion Model Directory
* Heidi Klum on IMDb