Dame Twiggy Lawson has said it is important to step out of your comfort zone but feels you must be “brave enough” to do so.
The model, whose real name is Lesley Lawson, spoke to Good Housekeeping magazine about pushing herself to take on new ventures throughout her career that she initially found “terrifying”.
The 72-year-old fashion star has explored many avenues, from modelling to acting, fashion designing and launching her own podcast Tea With Twiggy in 2020.
Discussing exploring new areas and stepping out of her comfort zone, Dame Twiggy said: “I think it’s good for us all to do that. You’ve just got to be brave enough to do it!
“I remember when I got asked to do my first Broadway show, My One And Only, the director Tommy Tune rang me up and I said, ‘No, I can’t do that!’
“The thought of going out in front of an audience of 1,500 people was terrifying.
“But Tommy said, ‘There’s no such word as can’t, pack your bag and get out to New York’, and I did.”
The fashion model also reflected upon the challenges of the last few years due to Covid-19 and admitted: “At the beginning of the pandemic, I found it all incredibly frightening, especially with Leigh (Twiggy’s husband) and I being in the upper age group.
“I felt fortunate that I wasn’t on my own, but the hardest thing was not seeing my daughter, Carly, and my grandchildren.”
Brought up in Neasden, north-west London, her success story started when she was 16 and it is often claimed she was the world’s first supermodel.
Dubbed The Face Of ’66 by the Daily Express, her four-year modelling career left its mark on the industry and her boyish, elfin look inspired a generation of girls.
She later turned her hand to acting and musical theatre, winning two Golden Globe awards for her role in the 1971 film The Boy Friend, and also went on to launch a music career.
Despite her success, she admitted having moments of insecurity like “everybody on the planet does” but felt she was quite a resilient person.
Dame Twiggy added: “But I don’t think that’s just me. I think as a woman, we’re all stronger than we know because we have to be.
“I’ve got two older sisters, who have been through some terrible things and they’re incredibly resilient too.”
In 2018 it was announced she had been awarded the title of Dame in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for her services to fashion, the arts and charity.
Read the full interview with Twiggy in the January issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale from December 8.