Celebrity model Emily Ratajkowski has enjoyed a career almost as jaw-dropping as her looks — from
Blurred Lines, to Vogue, to the runway, and the big screen. But there's a lot more to
the woman behind the pretty face. Here's why Emily Ratajkowski is still turning heads.
It appears that Emily had quite the international upbringing.
The model and actress is Polish American, but thanks to her Irish roots,
she also spent summers in Ireland as a kid. She told the Independent,
"I absolutely love Ireland. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth
and I have strong ties here. Both my grandmothers are from Ireland."
Even so, Emily told Vogue Italia that she identifies as a quote
"simple Londoner who grew up in California."
Born in the U.K. to American parents, Emily spent her first few years in London, later moving to
San Diego, California. She may have roots all over the world, but she told the outlet she's…
"100 percent Stars and Stripes."
Emily came by her love for the arts honestly,
revealing that she's been attracted to performing ever since childhood. She told Vogue Italia,
"I come from a family of artists: my mother is a professor of English literature and
is a very good writer, while my father is a painter. So, perhaps yes, it was in my blood."
"My dad was actually my high school art teacher"
Then again, while she has always been creative, she claimed that there was a time,
back in the day, when she wanted to be a firefighter. She added,
"I was, and am, a person who likes to change my mind."
"I'm an only child, my parents like made me do ev— like I had soccer, ballet, like piano, theater."
Emily also chalks up her love for beauty products to her DNA, telling Glamour,
"I think it comes from my dad being a painter and me going to art school.
My husband calls it finger painting when I do my make up. […] It’s like my own personal canvas."
"I love eyebrows. What's that's saying, like, don't let anybody with bad eyebrows
tell you s--- about life? I feel that way" Emily has shown her talent for acting and
modeling, but she's truly a multi-faceted artist. Even her hobbies indulge her creative
side. The actress enjoys drawing when she has some downtime, telling Vogue Italia,
"When I sketch figures and shapes,
it seems as if time stands still, while reading relaxes me and keeps me grounded in reality."
"Who's your favorite artist of all time?
John Ratajkowski. What's your favorite painting of all time? Anything by John Ratajkowski."
Still, her busy schedule influences the kind of literature she consumes. She told the outlet,
"Since I travel a lot, I prefer collections of short stories like All by Myself by
Lorrie Moore. […] It is a very honest female perspective that I think everyone should read."
Today, Emily is almost as well known for her staunch feminism as she is for her career.
In 2018, she and friend Amy Schumer were arrested while protesting then-Supreme
Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of misconduct by three women, according to CNN.
But her strong feminist viewpoints aren't a recent addition to her persona.
Instead, Emily says these roots go way back. She told Office magazine,
"I was really young. My mom was an academic and she was always talking about feminism."
"I think I realized that I'd always been a feminist, but hadn't
known the word, when I was 12."
The actress and model is adamant that her looks and career don't make her any less
of a voice for women — and she's tired of feminism being policed. She added,
"The whole idea of feminism is liberation and doing whatever the
f--- you want. […] If a woman still feels empowered […] we should never reject her."
"It's all about women doing what they want when they want,
and not having to take flak from anyone."
In large part due to her strong feminist views, Emily didn't have any issue with her appearance
in 2013's infamous video for Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." The seemingly scandalous concept
that launched a thousand parodies would catapult the young model to superstar celebrity status,
but it would also become a point of contention for her. She told Esquire after the video's release
that she didn't agree with those who claimed the video was demeaning toward women, saying,
"On the surface level, the […] women dancing, I understand that can be perceived that way.
But we're directed to have a sort of confidence, a sarcastic attitude
about the whole situation. […] I think it's actually celebrating women and their bodies."
Even though Emily's career seems to have been blessed at every turn,
her early success didn't necessarily translate to happiness. In spite of her traditionally
stunning looks, Emily has often struggled with her self-esteem. She admitted to Glamour,
"I have days when I literally cannot look in the mirror because I am sick of myself.
I don't like how I look or I want to change certain things about myself.
We are stuck inside one body, we can't see ourselves and we have no perspective on it."
"You might be looking at someone and thinking like oh they have
everything I want, and they're thinking the same thing."
She went on to claim that no one is immune to feeling insecure,
and confessed that she doesn't always feel great about her body. She told Elle magazine,
"I think it's all relative, and I think that everyone can be critical of their body,
it doesn't matter what you look like on Instagram. […] I think that confidence isn't something that
comes from what you see in the mirror, it's about how you feel, as cheesy as that sounds."
Emily landed her first major acting role with 2014's Gone Girl.
While acting hasn't been quite as lucrative as modeling has, for the actress, the transition from
runway to screen wasn't as jarring as one might expect. Far from simply fulfilling a childhood
dream, Emily's acting career was something that she had always planned for, in life.
And modeling provided her a gateway to her true passion. She told Office magazine,
"I started acting before I was ever interested in modeling. Growing up, I was a total theater
nerd — I just lived and breathed acting — and then like someone told my parents, 'She should
try modeling. It's a good way to get her foot in the door.' Of course, my mom was like, 'F--- no,'
but I eventually went to LA and got signed to an agency. Modeling just happened to take off first."
"I've been working this industry, I started modeling, I signed with Ford when I was fourteen,
so like it's a long, long journey"
Though she initially studied visual arts at UCLA,
Emily dropped out to pursue her modeling and acting careers.
Even the most glamorous models and movie stars sometimes confront feelings of inadequacy.
But when she's feeling less than great about herself,
this girl has learned how to handle it. She revealed that self-confidence is
something that takes practice and that it doesn't always come easily, telling Elle,
"Give yourself a break. This is a message that's super important to me. I feel like women,
and young women especially, are just so hard on themselves and constantly comparing themselves.
I don't know if I see that as much with men, certainly not physically."
"I'm just like dealing with low self-esteem, and like…"
"I wanna punch you right in your dumb face right now."
Admitting that it's key to aspire to be your best self and to crush your goals, she added,
"[It's] important to realize we're human beings, and you're not always
going to be all the things that you want to be in every given moment."
You'd think that keeping fit and healthy would be a top priority for a model,
but Emily hasn't always had the best habits when it comes to wellness.
Fortunately, that has changed. She told Byrdie in 2019,
"I think when you're 20, you feel like, why do people make such a fuss about self-care?
What does it matter? And then, you know, I became a grown-up and realized,
okay, you can't just be exhausted all the time."
"It's all about the healthy lunch. Hashtag healthy lifestyle."
She has since developed a better skincare routine and
has also started eating healthier. She revealed,
"I used to be the type of person who'd get Mexican food and then an entire pizza and be like,
oh whatever. But I wouldn't feel good. It wasn't even satisfying, you know? […] I think
portion control, as crazy-obvious as that sounds, has been a life changer for me."
In 2018, Emily married actor-producer Sebastian Bear-McClard after just a weeks-long courtship.
"It was a really special, um, special day."
The whirlwind romance swept the actress off her feet, but it has also kept her grounded. Emily
has found that being married has even helped her take better care of herself. She told Byrdie,
"I […] used to have serious FOMO. If something was going on, I needed to be there. I wouldn't
care how I felt. But I've just gotten to the point where […] I'm totally okay with being like,
okay, tonight I'm gonna be by myself. I'm not going to that extra thing."
Revealing that her husband's work involves a lot of late night events,
she says she's ok not attending every single one of them. She told the outlet,
"I'm like, you go do your thing. I'm gonna be here taking care of myself,
and then tomorrow I will be a better wife because I'll feel rested, you know?"
Emily's Instagram of course features many stunning model
shots. But that doesn't mean that she's preoccupied with her looks.
It turns out, her feed isn't even necessarily a reflection of her real life,
but is instead a carefully crafted version of what she wants people to see. Emily told Byrdie,
"What I always say to people is [my Instagram] is a curated version of a character. It's not
my real life. Hopefully, young people understand that. I really try to bring that home a little bit
because it's like, I'm basically making my own magazine so to speak. I'm curating this world."
"Nailed it"
Her Instagram, which boasts over 26 million followers,
might seem next level, but rest assured — Emily isn't always all glammed up. She says,
"You're definitely not seeing me when I woke up this morning with a fever,
sweaty, with my mascara underneath my eyes. No, I'm not posting that."
In addition to acting and modeling, Emily also launched her own fashion brand.
And she's determined to make a statement whenever and wherever she can. With her clothing line,
Inamorata [ih-nah-mor-AH-tuh], Emily aims to celebrate all body types. In 2018, promo for
her line included both professional and amateur models of all shapes and sizes. She told Elle,
"To me, this is what my dream is, seeing all these girls in
our bathing suits. My dream is to see girls of all shapes and sizes in the underwear.
And that's why the sizing ranges from extra small to extra large. The sizes are really generous."
Emily is also using her brand to speak against ageism. In 2019, Inamorata's bodysuit line
debuted with a photoshoot that featured models from ages 2 to 70. Emily told Refinery29,
"Women can spend their whole lives in a bodysuit. We start wearing bodysuits as babies
and [can style them] well into our 70s. They really are for all women, of every age."
Emily has taken a keen interest in politics, using her platform to share her views.
But she's still hesitant to put a label on it. She told Marie Claire in 2018,
"I struggle with the label of 'activist' because I'm struggling with what activism
means […] in general. I want a radical left, and I don't see it. […] I've seen a lot of people,
no offense, wearing pink hats and posting it on Instagram and thinking that they've
done something good for the world, and I just don't think that's true."
"We will regret it forever if we don't take this opportunity to join this movement."
Emily is also a firm believer in the importance of voting, and she wants to see more people
engage in the political process. She shared with Office magazine,
"In my mind, the way we actually create change is by dedicating our voices,
and our time, and our passion, to one important
thing at a time — instead of giving just a little bit to everything."
Even though life in the limelight means that Emily is often scrutinized,
she has learned to do her best to ignore the haters and to stay focused on her career.
But she'll likely never be able to escape people critiquing her. She told Fashion magazine,
"I always like to say that women in general are always pigeonholed by the way they look,
no matter how they look. It's not really about being good looking, it's a symptom of [gender
discrimination] that women tend to be judged more than men based on their attractiveness."
"There's gonna be ten different people telling you
that you're beautiful and then there'll be two that are saying you look awful."
Instead of dwelling on what people think of her,
Emily would prefer to celebrate how far she's come, and focus on the future. She said,
"I've learned that the less I care what people think of me — as trite and obvious
as this sounds — the more I've succeeded in personal relationships and in my career.
People don't really care about you. They mostly care about themselves and how you make them feel.
The more you stop showing them that you're overly concerned with yourself, they like you more."
"I'm my own superhero. You are too."
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