Laetitia Casta Interviews and Articles
Laetitia spends holidays and vacations, and as much of her free time as possible, on Corsica, in the small village of Lumio, where the Castas maintain a home. Corsica is "in her blood", she declares with pride. The values of Corsica are still very much a part of her life. The education she received at home emphasized the importance of family and has encouraged in her both the freedom to make her own decisions, and to take a small delight in rebellion. "My parents taught me to respect others; to not lie, and not to steal. And to grow as slowly as possible. They imposed limits on me that my friends did not have. When I went out, I had to tell my parents where I was going and with whom. I was not allowed to stay out late, and I could never be late for dinner. It was hard for me to accept, and sometimes I felt like I was in prison. But I believe the restrictions helped me appreciate the freedom I now enjoy. And when I first started to enjoy that freedom- Wow!
Victoria's Secret
Laetitia signed another major contract in 1996 with Victoria's Secret; the leading catalog for intimate apparel in the United States. In 1998 she was named one of the company's five top spokesmodels, known as the "Angels". When Victoria's Secret aired a cyberspace fashion show in Feb 1999, it drew a record-breaking 1.5 million hits to its website. "I first met Laetitia about 2 years ago on a photo shoot in Bermuda" recalls Ed Razek, president and VP marketing officer of Victoria's Secret. I walked into the set as they were photographing her, and my first impression was that she had a 'different kind' of beauty. She was unnlike anyone we had ever shot for Victoria's Secret. I knew immediately that she had a special quality. But to be frank, it took me awhile to understand how completely rare her beauty is, and how enormous her self-confidence is. She is utterly unique; not only in the business, but also, in my experience, as a personality.
According to Razek, the customer response to Laetitia is consistently enthusiastic. He says, "I decided to make her an Angel because there was no way to keep her out of the lineup. She was just too strong, too beautiful, and too important to the brand to not be an Angel. She is a real beauty, a first-class talent, and a wonderful human being. I think the world of Laetitia."
"I lived for ten years in Pont-Audemer", she says, "in absolute simplicity, in a remote village house with few neighbors. I was free to play in the river with the frogs, to play with the pigs, to laugh, to joke, and to roam around in the woods. It was fantastic. Even today, I love to throw my arms around trees to embrace them. It gives me energy and makes me feel close to nature."
Of both Corsican and Italian descent, Laetitia's father grew up on the rugged isle of Corsica. When he was about 8 years old, the Casta family moved from there to Normandy. Dominique Casta met and married Line, a beautiful, unassuming woman who gave up a career in accounting to devote herself to raising their family. Laetitia was born on May 11th, 1978, two years after her older brother. 12 years later, her little sister, Marie-Ange came out.
A creative child, Laetitia loved to draw and write stories in school. "I was a dreamer: absentminded and distracted". My teachers told me I was not as talented as my brother. I was already insecure and stubborn as a mule, so when I heard this, I withdrew further into my private world- my bubble."
She managed to emerge from her bubble around the age of 12 with the help of the Corsican determination she has learned to trust. "I just wasn't ready to grow up before then," she admits. "It was when Marie-Ange was born that I woke up. I forced myself to grow up for her because I felt she was my responsibility. The idea that I could be a role model was a great revelation for me."
Another revelation for her was her body.
"At 12, my breasts began to grow, and I had to wear a bra. But my friends did not wear them yet, and the kids at school teased me. They would sit behind me in class and pull my bra straps and laugh. I felt awkward - like a grasshopper or a giraffe, and self-conscious. I was embarrassed about my body, which was growing so rapidly. When guests came to our house, I hid under the table. Inside, I was more childlike than my body, and a glance from others intimidated me. Boys never approached me, I was always alone, watching them from a distance, but too afraid to say anything. I did not consider myself interesting to them."
She did not discover how wrong she was until she was about 15.
Paul Marciano said: "The first time she walked into my office. I thought she was lost in the GUESS? building with her parents. She looked like she was no more than twelve years old. But when I looked more closely, I was blown away by the perfect features of her face. And those eyes -- I couldn't look away from them! Then she spoke to me in French, and I was so pleasantly surprised. I have to say it was the sweetest and most refreshing moment I had in many years." (From The book Laetitia Casta, 1999)
Corsica
It is a place in the sun surrounded by the ocean. Covered by forest, high and wild mountains, a spectacular coast and beautiful beaches. Corsica belongs to France now, but has a long an exciting history. The people are proud of their land and true to their traditions. Family are sacred to the Corsicans.
TV MAG: - You always share your life between Paris and New York?
Laetitia Casta: I am a nomad. I like moving. I adore New York. One feels free there. One walks a lot and can dress in fluorescent orange, nobody turns their eyes on you. But if my filming projects become specific, I'll come back again to settle down in Paris. On the side of New York, there's the calmness. Almost like the country!
TV MAG: - Between the film of Raul Ruiz and that of Patrice Leconte you became a mother. What haschanged in your life?
Laetitia Casta: Everything; life itself! It's corny to say so, but it's simply the most beautiful thing that exists in the world. One matures, gets more confidence in oneself. The priorities are different. But there's nothing really special to say. I'm simply feeling like millions of anonymous women who brought their child in the world.
TV MAG: - Bearing a child at 23 in the middle of the full blowing of your career, that could very well put obstacles in it...
Laetitia Casta: But I'm neither career woman, nor an opportunist. I don't want to sacrifice myself for this profession. I prefer living things deeply. Happiness is THE most important thing.
TV MAG: - And are YOU happy?
Laetitia Casta: There are moments, yes, and others where it's not that good. I'm a woman like the rest of the people! But I have no reason not to be for the time-being. I find that life is really not bad at all!
TV MAG: - What can disappoint you then?
Laetitia Casta: Sometimes I give a lot and the result is not up to my expectations. But that doesn't bring my enthusiasm down. I'm constantly searching for the development. I hope I'll still be like that when I'm 90.
TV MAG: - You certainly have the time...
Laetitia Casta: I have so many things to do. Every day, I have new aspirations. I'm discovering the volume of all that I have yet to know. To go at the theater, watch all the works of Tryffaut and Duviver, to retrieve old books, to travel. To meet new people, learn new words. It's necessary for me to live long so as to do it all.
(In her first interview since the birth of her daughter Sahteene)
Laetitia, how did your modeling career start?
Laetitia Casta: "I was at the beach in Corsica, as an agent of Madison suggested making some photos. First I could not believe it and then...a dream just came true!"
How do you keep yourself fit?
Laetitia Casta: " I drink a lot of water - particularly onboard a plane. I eat balanced. I love swimming, and try to walk a lot."
Which occupation would you have selected, if you had not become model?
Laetitia Casta: "Perhaps a basic school teacher or a housewife. I love children! My daughter is the most beautiful gift I've gotten within the 23 years of my life."
MF: What is that you don't like most of yourself?
LC: My impatience.
MF: Which advice from your mother are you following closely?
LC: To drink much water and to sleep well.
MF: Which is your favorite product?
LC: I like very much the gel-cream "Hydra-Fresh" of L'Oreal; it leaves my skin matte, moisturized, and cool.
MF: What about your favorite sports?
LC: Swimming and yoga.
MF: How do you imagine yourself in ten years from now?
LC: Having some charming wrinkles and many children...
(Interview with Laetitia Casta in OHLA 3 July 2002.)
OHLA: How has the woman that you are evolved in one year?
LC: I hope so! I had some meetings, I have enriched myself. My priorities have changed, but I'm always myself with the same back, the same roots. On the line of years, I have the feeling that the more I get old, the more I feel well.
OHLA: Which are your dreams at the present time?
LC: I'm not planning really. I'm neither calculator nor career-woman. I trust luck and the meetings. I believe in the signs of destiny, because there are many in my life. People have the tendency to stick stripes on your shoulders, some labels: model or actress. On my part, I don't have the feeling to be one or the other; I'm simply myself.
OHLA: What are you thinking about the American cinema and of big-budget films like "Star Wars Episode II" and about the French cinema?
LC: I haven't done it yet, but I'll go and watch "Star Wars". I believe that once a film has a depth, certain trips, it's interesting. As for the French cinema, I feel that French producers can't express themselves completely.
("Laetitia Casta Cuts Her Teeth on a Serious Film" by Joan Dupont, International Herald Tribune, Tuesday, May 29, 2001)
CANNES, France. She is naturally pretty without makeup, a blithe spirit, running around the roof of the Hotel Martinez in a kimono, and simply unafraid of displaying her toothy smile. "There's something wrong with my teeth," she has said, "they're not all in a row."
In "Les Ames Fortes" (Savage Souls), the film that closed the Cannes International Film Festival, and released in France on the same day, she plays Therese; an ambitious peasant girl whose acts and motives are cloaked in enigma. "Therese wasn't a very cheerful part," Laetitia said.
It is her first leading role. "The most difficult thing for me was to be accepted by a team," she said. "I was afraid of not being up to it, not being good enough. Everything new is difficult, but it was a heady experience."
The film, directed by Raoul Ruiz, was adapted from a novel by Jean Giono, set in the mountainous gloom of Haute Provence. Ruiz has his own way of dealing with his narratives: His last film in 1999 was an impressionist vision of Proust's world, "Le Temps Retrouve" (Time Regained). He hasn't taken the easy way in this film either, telling the story through galloping flashbacks, grappling with elusive characters who seem to slip even further out-of-focus as the plot unfolds.
She was 15 when she began modeling, and she quickly shot to the top. "There's no ideal career or way of doing things. I was very lucky, but I had to grab the opportunity. I learned everything through travel, and the school of experience. I had a passport to the world. If the plane wasn't there, I'd take a boat. If there was no boat, I walked. And gained more self-confidence than if I had stayed at school."
She has always loved everything to do with images. "Photographers, too, are influenced by film, so I didn't really change careers, I simply diversified. In the fashion world, I learned about the camera and lighting, and other things actors are supposed to know, like how to move, so I wasn't afraid of that part."
But looking at herself on the screen was not always easy. "I get nervous, like hearing my voice on the phone; I tighten my fists and perspire. Nobody likes themselves. That's why people are so cruel to each other."
Like Therese, she is an object of curiosity. Right now, there is a rumor that she is pregnant, which she neither denies nor confirms. She does say: "I would love my children to study, if that's what they want. I'm Catholic, and even if I'm not religious today, I learned the history of Jesus and the apostles. I would never force my children, but I'd want them to understand history."
She is so near childhood herself still, and likens Ruiz to the grandfather she lost years ago. "Raoul is a magic character out of 'A Thousand and One Nights' or 'Ali Baba.' He's older; he's made lots of movies, but he's still young."
She saw "Time Regained" two years ago at Cannes. "I remember thinking, 'now that's real cinema.' And when I saw them all take a bow together, I thought, 'Wow, how great to be part of an ensemble.'"
In "Les Ames Fortes," Arielle Dombasle plays Madame Numance, Therese's mysterious benefactress. Casta says that Dombasle was protective of her on the set, "Very generous. Arielle floats on a cloud, while I'm earthy, clunky."
Dombasle has acted with Ruiz several times, as well as with Eric Rohmer. Does Casta see herself as part of a director's entourage? She thinks about it. "Rohmer takes mostly young people and I'm going to be getting older. I think not. I'd like to get out, discover new experiences. If a young director wants me and the part is interesting, I'd be thrilled."
She recently played a prostitute in Patrice Leconte's "Rue des Plaisirs." A very different experience, she laughed. "Patrice looks like a charming elfin creature, but he's much more serious than Raoul."
There are different kinds of beauty, Casta said. "Dragons and villains wanted me to have my teeth fixed, and to lose weight. That's not the way I see this job. Right now, I want to do more, go deeper. That's who I am now. When I was 15, I didn't know as much; now I'm 23. And when I'm 40, maybe none of this will interest me anymore, and I'll become a gardener."
When Cosmo cover girl Laetitia Casta was discovered, she never imagined that gracing the covers of major magazines and appearing in ad campaigns for Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret, and Guess? would be her ticket to the movies. The stunning French beauty is has taking her talents to the big screen in the film "Asterix et Obelix". The most exciting part: "I got to work next to Gerard Depardieu!"
Q&A with Laetitia:
List your five absolutely favorite clothing items?
My jeans with a rip under the bum (you should wear jeans and a t-shirt as confidently as you wear a designer suit), striped Capri pants, a yellow 60's flowering dress, an extra-large cashmere sweater, and pink socks with little pigs on them.
How do you stay in shape?
I like to ride horses and take long walks. I'm not the type to slave away at the gym. I like that I have curves.
Do you have any French beauty secrets?
I laugh as hard as I can for 15 minutes every day. Having a lust for life makes you beautiful.
What's the hardest thing about being a model?
Being true to yourself. Its easy to get wrapped up in the business and lose your values.
Are men intimidated by you?
On the contrary, I'm the one who's shy and intimidated.
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
That all people are equal. When someone makes me nervous, I imagine them on the toilet, and then I feel much more self-assured.
How do you relax?
I listen to loud music and dance wildly in front of my mirror.
(Interview with Laetitia Casta in OHLA September 29, 1999)
Q : As a teenager, were you interested in photographs, in fashion magazines?
LC: Not at all. When I was 15, like all girls, I dreamt a little of these things, but I couldn't have been less interested in it as a career. In fact, to be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do.
Q : You are ravishing, practically perfect. Isn't it easier for you to say this, than for many other women?
LC: Perfection, what is it exactly? Amongst all the many flowers, is one more perfect than all the others? No, one of them perhaps has a shape and colour that gives pleasure to some people, but that's not to say it is perfect. For me, you can't believe that everything happened so easily. Once I began working, people said either my bust was too big, that I was nice, but too short. Not perfect, in other words. Women you pass in the street aren't perfect, either. But it is this conception of beauty that I will always defend. When I started, people wanted me to change my teeth, and they wanted me to diet. But I refused. I said no, you don't understand me. I am going to stay just as I am, keeping my identity right by my side.
Q : Do you think that you owe this force of character and determination you are describing to the education your parents gave you?
LC: My mother is kind and generous. She gave us and she continues to give us a great ideal of love. A true mother, she is someone you can always count on. My father is very strong, determined, and also very protective. I adore them both. They taught me to respect others, to stay as I am, and above all to give priority to the family and those that I love. These are the anchors in the Corsican character, and which give me the most help in my life. In this way, I don't think about my physical appearance. I think about what I am doing with my life, that's the difference.
Q : You're born in Normandy but you seem to be closer to Corsican people, which manifestly stand up for their values and their art of living.
LC: My father is Corsican, and I have come here every year since I was very young; for Christmas, for summer holidays, etc. As soon as we have free time, it's quite simple; we come here to refresh! It's true that I consider myself more a Corsican than a Norman. To be Corsican, it's in the blood.
Q : You've talked about having a true passion for the mountain rivers. The rapport that you have with nature seems to be physical, emotional, almost sensual.
LC: I believe in having a rapport with the soil and the water, which others can get through religion. I don't need luxury to be happy. These are things that I believe in profoundly. They give me the opportunity to live life as I wish. It's enough for me to be in the mountains with some cheese, some bread.
Q : But the luxury that come from things around you, you know how to appreciate them.
LC: No. On the contrary, for me to know the things that I really love, that is very important for me. Luxury puts me rather ill at ease -- I feel like I'm a cat being given some shoes! Sometimes when I'm working I surprise, even shock, the make-up artist or the hairdresser when I insist on not having any lipstick or a complicated hairstyle. For me, all these things are like telling lies to yourself.
Q : Are you happy ?
LC: Yes
Q : Would you be as happy now if you hadn't that success you are living, and without the material comfort that comes with?
LC: Yes
Q : Do you feel of being a sort of role-model for lots of young girls?
LC: No, no. I absolutely don't want to be a role-model. It would deprive me of a little of my freedom.
Q : You matured very quickly, and you grew up amongst many adults. Have you kept up links with others of your own age, particularly with your school friends?
LC: I didn't have many friends at school.
Q : Why?
LC: I don't know, I was in a world of my own. I had a friend, my best friend in fact, and I still know him. He came to see me recently, and I realised while talking to him, that at school he had been my only true friend. And he told me: "that's because at school, you were just as you are now".
Q : And why was this?
LC: At that time, it didn't interest me to be with the other girls, discussing girly things. I preferred to be quiet...to be alone. I don't want to say that I was different, but I had my family, and this friend. That was sufficient for me - to be like that. There are people who need to be with others all the time, but not me.
Q : But your choice of career means that all the time, loads of people are around you.
LC: Yes, but once I've finished my work, and it's truly finished, I don't see anyone. Lots of people need to go out at night, to be followed by their courtiers. Me, I'm not afraid to be on my own. On the contrary. In fact, I love to be alone.
Q : You have a very romantic concept of a family, and of marriage. Is this exactly the example that your parents have given you?
LC: Of course! My parents met at the age of 16, and they will never part. It was the first love for both of them. Me, I see that everything around me is normal. But it's true that it would have been much more difficult to believe in all of that with divorced parents. I think that their example has given me great strength.
Q : Your beauty, your career; doesn't it make things a little difficult in relationships with men?
LC: I think that these relationships are difficult for all women.
Q : And what are the difficulties?
LC: Generally, it isn't easy to respect someone for what they are rather than for what they represent. And even then, it isn't always straightforward, I think that to find someone who is totally sincere, someone who will love you with the same strength throughout all the stages of your life, even when you aren't as young as you used to be, and your skin isn't quite so soft, for example. We all have the same problems, and we all have the same dreams, it seems to me. In my work, I meet many men who have money, who have power. But none of them have ever managed to move me.
Q : Why ?
LC: Because it's precisely for that reason that I will love him. Because he will be different, because he will be able to teach me different things than those that I already know.
A photographer with a representative of Paris model agency Madison appeared at the beach of San Ambroggio.
Laetitia Casta enjoys her profession, because she can be as she truly is: funny, curiously, incalculably, full of life desire. No trail of grimness like some other models. "For me, all this is great fun...a beautiful play! I take each day as it comes. Everything is in motion - and so I decide always again, what I want to make."
In her life between Paris and New York, and all the glamorous and paradisacle places of work, she has a base which can’t be shaken. She lives with her parents at the edge of Paris on the countryside. There are those she loves and whom she trusts: father, mother, brother and the baby sister. From there she starts her excursions "not into a luxurious life, but more like an adventuress. I see everything that I make as a great challenge and a great experience".
No, not at all...
But I think I am a bit boring in fact.
So, where do you come from ?
From a very simple family in Corsica; "Calvi" to be precise. All my souvenirs are there, and when I come back home, I can't hide my feelings. To be happy is very important for me. I have understood that I was free to be free. Simply.
What makes you dream?
Greediness!! Life, to be a little silly, to accept things like they come, and to live impulsively. This is what I call liberty.
When you speak about yourself, how do you define yourself ?
Stupid, sometimes dumb, young, happy...
I don't matter to be on all covers. People often try to destroy you by treachery, so it is important to me to take care. I like simple, frank men, people who say that they have in mind, who struggle for their ideas.
When I begun as a model, everybody tried to remould me: I was too fat or too little: they tried to remould my teeth....I am very proud to stay as I was. And there is another thing which is wonderful, that's to look like a woman; not a string bean. I love to walk in the streets and to notice that people do not care of me. Sometimes, women come to me and say, "Oh thank you for you to have such a gorgeous body." I enjoy it a lot. More, I eat, a lot!! Even if I lost weight, I will recover.
Laetitia Casta The BOOK.
She's the hottest French export since Brigitte Bardot. She's graced the runways of Galliano and Gaultier and appeared on hundreds of magazine covers worldwide. And in a world of gaunt, underfed, pale models, she's a bodacious, curvy, voluptuous breath of fresh air. She's Laetitia Casta. Called "the sexiest model" by Details, and "the most beautiful woman in the world" by Paris Match. Laetitia Casta is the supreme supermodel of the decade, and perhaps the past century.
Laetitia's own charcoal scribbles and comments are highly charming (her comments on nudity and seduction therein, for example). The strongest photos in the book are those by the one who, I think, understands her appeal the most: Dominique Issermann, one of the first photographers to use Laetitia frequently for sessions.
The book has a limited scope, obviously; it does get across Casta's strongest trait, which is the ability to convey a sense of "self"; Laetitia as a flesh-and-blood person -- some kind of personal, emotional communication, instead of the empty glamour that most models project.
A beautiful woman is God's ultimate creation and gift to mankind. Laetitia Casta stands above them all as the most gorgeous female of her generation. Laetitia's physical beauty surpasses the art of Rembrant, the music of Wagner, the poetry of Dante, or the sculpture of Michelangelo.
Already a frequent cover girl, Laetitia is the face of L'Oreal and a featured model for the Victoria's Secret catalog. She has starred in ads for Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Isaac Mizrahi, and several Guess campaigns.