  
|
|
Guess?: How did you get started in the modeling business?
Laetitia Casta: I was 15 and in Paris on holiday with my family. I was lying on a beach with my baby sister when a woman came up to my father and gave him her business card. She was a photographer and saw me, so I guess that's how I got discovered. She introduced me to a modeling agent. I was still in school so I went to castings only on the weekends. My father was a little bit nervous so he chaperoned me on different jobs. We took our time.
G?: Did you always have aspirations to be a model?LC: No. I always thought I looked like a boy growing up.
G?: What was your first real job?
LC: My first real job was doing a shoot for Italian Glamour. Then Paul Marciano, President and Creative Director of GUESS?, selected me for a GUESS? advertising campaign shot by Neil Kirk in Jamaica in October 1994.
G?: How has fame affected you? Do you see yourself differently now than before you started modeling? Why? How about the way others see you?LC: I am very proud of my work. I am happy with my family and I try to stay healthy. I think I have changed a little bit - I've learned a lot about traveling, people and life. I've learned a lot about life! I do miss my friends and they miss me. I think about my friends all the time. But over the years, our friendship has stayed the same. If it changed then they would not be my true friends.
G?: How do you describe yourself?LC: Easy and happy. Very happy. I'm 5'8" with light brown hair and blue eyes. I think I have a good sense of humor. I try to be confident and self-assured, and my motto remains, "If there's someone knocking at my door, I will open it."
G?: What do you like most about modeling? What do you like least?LC: I like meeting new people. I like learning about different people and communicating with them. The thing I like the least about modeling is fake people. There are a lot of people in the business who can hurt you.
G?: GUESS? has catapulted many modeling careers, how has GUESS? affected your career?LC: Before I started modeling for GUESS?, I only modeled in France for French publications. GUESS? introduced me to the United States and the world. GUESS? was the first company that really gave me international exposure.
G?: When you think of GUESS?, what first comes to your mind?LC: Jeans! Beautiful black and white advertising images! Eva Herzigova and Claudia Schiffer!
G?: What are your favorite things to do in your free time?LC: I love spending time with my family. I love playing with my brother and sister. I like to go-cart race and relax on the beach with them. My favorite thing to do is hang out with my family.
G?: Out of all the places your career has taken you, where was the most memorable?LC: I would have to say either Jamaica or Mexico, and of course Corsica! That's where I was born and raised, practically in the middle of an animal-filled forest.
G?: Where do you consider home?LC: I live in Paris with my mother, father, older brother and younger sister. I like to go-cart race with my friends, travel, cook with my mom and spend time with my 9-year-old sister.
G?: How did you get started in Judo? How long have you been doing it? What about the art do you carry into other parts of your life, like modeling?LC: I started practicing Judo more than nine years ago. I received a Brown Belt. Judo teaches you many things about life. It teaches you to have control and to set limits for yourself, how not to be aggressive but to balance your life and balance your mind and to think with your mind not with your emotions.
G?: There are a lot of models that try their hand at acting. Is this something that interests you? If so, what types of roles do you see yourself playing?LC:Yes, I would definitely love to try acting someday. I would try every role, why not? I think I would be good in a comedy role. For now though, I would like to continue modeling for as long as I can.
G?: Do you have a mentor? Who? What is it about them that affects you? Why?LC: Napoleon and Bridget Bardot...because they were from Corsica and because they made something of their lives. Oh, also Estelle Halliday because she was a French girl too, who became a GUESS? Girl just like me.
G?: Where do you see yourself in ten years?LC: In ten years, I hope to be happily married and have a very large family. I love children.
G?: What is your favorite kind of food?LC: I like all kinds of foods. I like Italian and French the best, I think.
G?: What is your favorite kind of music?LC: I especially like French music but I like to dance to American rock-n-roll.