'My time was running out!' Barbie Ferreira reveals why she quit modelling
Barbie Ferreira has revealed why she quit modelling in her early 20s, but keeps working on fashion brand deals.
Barbie Ferreira felt like her "time was running out" when she hit 20 as a model.
The 29-year-old star, who admitted she "started modelling to get into acting", has reflected on her decision to leave the fashion industry behind, having started in her mid-teens.
She told Bustle: "At 20, I felt like my time was running out. Modelling can make you feel washed at 24.
"I had to get back to the path of what I really wanted to do. I realised going back to acting was what I really wanted to do.
"I got caught up in the fashion industry for a couple of years — it wasn’t anything crazy, but I knew I needed to focus on what was next because I knew modelling wouldn’t be forever."
However, Barbie did admit she has hit a sweet spot which allows her to take certain brand deals to make money, which gives her more freedom with the acting roles she decides to commit to.
She explained: "I love doing that. I’ve been very blessed. I can design for Levi’s or do a campaign for Gap — small time commitments for enough money to survive so I can then do an indie movie or a Broadway play."
The former Euphoria actress, whose recent roles include Faces of Death and Mile End Kicks, made it clear she does believe in the brands she represents, while those arrangements give her enough money to avoid the poverty she grew up in.
She said: "I only work with brands I truly like. Because of my history in fashion and my social media engagement, I’m in a lucky position to do both.
"I don’t have to take an L and move the whole family back into one apartment. We’re not doing that anymore."
When it comes to her modelling, Barbie noted how it's been "hard" when the public have held her on a pedestal for her curves.
She pondered: "It’s hard because my whole family fluctuates in weight. I started modelling at 16, and I’ve looked different every year for over a decade.
"It’s very trendy right now to talk about women’s bodies, which is exactly why I personally don’t talk about it. There is so much discourse around what I look like — and what other women look like — all the time.
"As women, we are in a losing game. If we’re too small or too big, we lose. We are human beings who fluctuate. I gain weight, I lose weight; that’s just my life. I didn’t realise people would be so hyper-fixated on it."
