I can't stand my legs, for a start, and you rarely see me in skirts.
— Iman
At the end of the day, my legacy will not be modelling but my cosmetics line.
I believe the universe has great plans for us. When you are young, you don't learn that.
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.
I don't love eating meat. I really only like chicken and fish.
There are some people who have helped to advance me and other girls, but the fashion industry is always behind popular culture. They think they understand the zeitgeist. They don't know anything about the zeitgeist.
Looking good is a commitment to yourself and to others. Wigs, killer heels, Pilates, even fillers - whatever works for you, honey.
That is something that my mother instilled in me at a very young age - to know my self-worth. And I have had times again and again in the fashion industry where all of that was tested and I rose to the occasion because I was told that I am worthy and I should be able to walk away from something that is not worthy of me.
We all want what every girl wants: to look fabulous while we're out there ruling the world.
I've always said if what I'm going to create doesn't look good on everybody, I'm not going to do it.
There is a lot of noise out there. I don't want to follow the trend - I want to create the trend.
I arrive in New York on October 15, 1975. On my own, by the way.
We all have friends and loved ones who say 60's the new 30. No. Sixty's the new 60.
I had never seen 'Vogue.' I didn't read fashion magazines, I read 'Time' and 'Newsweek.'
I was under 18, and to leave Kenya to come to the United States, to get a passport, you had to be 18. So I lied and said I was 19 to get the passport, because otherwise, I had to have permission from my parents, and my parents would never have let me come.
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.
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.
The truth was I felt ugly growing up. I only really started feeling comfortable in myself when I was 40.
Change makes you find your calling, your legacy, and God's divine plan for your life. Don't run from it.
The people who are the most successful in life are not stopped by fear.
I tell all my younger friends, 'Don't be afraid of change. That is when you truly see what your destiny is.'
Life is too short not to have pasta, steak, and butter.
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.
I believe in glamour. I am in favor of a little vanity. I don't rely on just my genes.
I have a 15-year-old daughter who thinks that I always had this self confidence that I have now at the age of 60. And I always tell her that what she is going through - the low self-esteem as a teenager - that is a right of passage.
I wanted a bronzer so I could look like I just came from Ibiza everyday.
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.
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 speak five languages besides mine. I went to school in Egypt because girls weren't allowed to go to school in Saudi Arabia. It's very restricting, especially for girls; we're not allowed to go anywhere.
I would go to cosmetics counters and buy two or three foundations and powders, and then go home and mix them before I came up with something suitable for my undertones.
I was a very nerdy child. I never fit in, so I became laboriously studious.
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.
I beg you, don't use the verb, 'discover', I hate it. What does it mean, that I didn't exist before?
When everyone is telling you, 'You're so beautiful, there's nobody like you,' you begin to think it's true. But of course there is nobody like you.
When I lived in Egypt, we always wore kaftans. I had cashmere kaftans from Halston. You put on a kaftan in your backyard, and it's like you're in Ibiza.
When I started modeling, they tried to pay black models less than they paid Caucasian models. I turned down those jobs because I knew what I was worth.
Multicultural markets are nuanced but not alien.
Eliminating the things you love is not wellness. Wellness feeds your soul and makes you feel good.
At the end of the day, a 34B doesn't give you self-esteem.
I thought at 46 years old, I've been removed from the fashion industry for 10 years. I couldn't possibly write a model's book. That's for a 20-year-old. But I could say what I want to say without chastising the industry.
I don't do anything by myself. I have a whole crew to get me ready every day.
Intelligence is sexy. Don't play dumb, especially young girls. Don't play dumb. And let people see that you are intelligent.
I was studying political science; I was adamant that I was going to follow in my father's footsteps.
I'll be truly happy when we're not counting the number of ethnically diverse models on a fashion runway or campaign, when having a representation of the entire human race is the norm and not an exception.
I'm against a signature look, as that can be very outdating. But having said that, I also know my best qualities, so I'm not going to foolhardily give away my power.
My given name was Zahra, which is the 'flower of the desert.' I don't look anything like the flower of the desert. My name was changed by my grandfather to Iman, which means 'have faith.' And it meant to have faith that a daughter would come.
People get numbed when they see picture after picture, year in and year out, of people starving.
We never do Valentine's dinner, because everybody, they look. On Valentine's, imagine me and David going to a restaurant! Like, everybody's going to say, 'Did they talk? Did they hold hands?' Twenty years. We've been married twenty years!
We never wore burkas because Somalis had our own culture.
Italian was my first foreign language. I speak it better than English.
