I don't look like a white woman. I look Somali.

Multicultural markets are nuanced but not alien.

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

We never wore burkas because Somalis had our own culture.

The day you settle for less is the day you will get less.

My looks have changed. I have laugh lines - not wrinkles.

At the end of the day, a 34B doesn't give you self-esteem.

Beauty is being comfortable and confident in your own skin.

I don't love eating meat. I really only like chicken and fish.

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

I was never a practicing Muslim. But I do consider myself a Muslim.

I can't stand my legs, for a start, and you rarely see me in skirts.

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

Italian was my first foreign language. I speak it better than English.

I wanted a bronzer so I could look like I just came from Ibiza everyday.

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

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

I don't do anything by myself. I have a whole crew to get me ready every day.

At the end of the day, my legacy will not be modelling but my cosmetics line.

My father... gave me a positive connection with men because he is a gentleman.

I am the face of a refugee. I was once a refugee. I was with my family in exile.

We all have friends and loved ones who say 60's the new 30. No. Sixty's the new 60.

Bowie is just a persona. He's a singer, an entertainer. David Jones is a man I met.

I believe in glamour. I am in favor of a little vanity. I don't rely on just my genes.

I did not want to get involved with a rock star. No way. It is not a sane thing to do.

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

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

I believe the universe has great plans for us. When you are young, you don't learn that.

I had never seen 'Vogue.' I didn't read fashion magazines, I read 'Time' and 'Newsweek.'

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

I am so far more secure and more grounded and more know who I am than when I was in my 20s.

We all want what every girl wants: to look fabulous while we're out there ruling the world.

It's really not a good idea to forecast or double guess the fates; you will always be fooled.

I'm a very political person, and I think things through clearly, even when I was 18 years old.

I vowed to myself when I got married that I would cook every night. I find it very therapeutic.

People get numbed when they see picture after picture, year in and year out, of people starving.

There is a lot of noise out there. I don't want to follow the trend - I want to create the trend.

Eliminating the things you love is not wellness. Wellness feeds your soul and makes you feel good.

I beg you, don't use the verb, 'discover', I hate it. What does it mean, that I didn't exist before?

I was studying political science; I was adamant that I was going to follow in my father's footsteps.

Change makes you find your calling, your legacy, and God's divine plan for your life. Don't run from it.

The truth was I felt ugly growing up. I only really started feeling comfortable in myself when I was 40.

Mrs. Obama is not a great beauty. But she is so interesting-looking - so bright. That will always take you farther.

I keep on 5 to 10 pounds above my jeans weight, as the ultimate no-filler-needed refresher, and buy a size up on jeans.

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

I'm always criticised by other Somalis and Muslims for what I'm doing as a model and married to a white man and all that.

Intelligence is sexy. Don't play dumb, especially young girls. Don't play dumb. And let people see that you are intelligent.

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.

I started the cosmetics in 1994 after I stopped modeling, out of my frustration as a woman of color not finding what I needed.

The women I gravitate to are the ones who defy convention and reinvent themselves - hence, they reinvent the world around them.

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