The Woman Who Made Me Who I Am
Today is International Women’s Day
All week long I’ve been sharing the stories of incredible women who have inspired me
Women I’ve had the privilege of photographing
Women whose strength, confidence and stories reminded me why I love what I do
But today I want to talk about the woman who shaped everything
My mother
My mother raised me on her own
Not because life was easy
But because she was strong enough to choose a better life for us
She left a violent man and built a new life from scratch
And from that moment on, she did everything in her power to make sure I would have opportunities, freedom and a future
She worked countless jobs (sometimes several at the same time) just to make sure I would never lack anything
She sacrificed more than I will probably ever fully understand
But if you met her, you would never guess the battles she has fought
Because my mother is also the most joyful, optimistic and vibrant woman I know
She has always been incredibly beautiful
Sexy
Funny
Full of life
The kind of woman who lights up every room she walks into
People don’t just notice her, they gravitate toward her
She loves making jokes, playing little pranks, making people laugh. There is something about her energy that people never forget
Growing up, my friends loved her
In fact, the first time I ever went out partying… I went with my mother
People often thought she was my sister
And when we went out together, more men would approach her than my friends or me
She was always the queen of the room
But what shaped me the most was not just her charisma
It was the freedom she gave me
She always trusted me
She gave me the freedom that was appropriate for my age at every stage of my life
And she always made me feel like I could become anything
When I wanted to be an actress, she supported me
When I decided to move to France, she supported me
When I chose to study finance, she supported me
When I became a photographer, she supported me
In fact, photography is something I owe to her
My mother was a photographer herself, and she is the one who gave me my first camera. She passed on to me the love for photography. And when I started doing photoshoots in Spain, she would come help me. She was my photography assistant. And she has an incredible eye for images
Another thing she taught me very early on is that a woman has the right to be sensual
To be sexy
To dress however she wants
And not care about the opinions of others
She taught me to take up space
She also taught me something else that defines me today. The love for animals. People who know me often say I love animals. But if they think I love animals a lot… they have no idea how much my mother loves them. Her heart is enormous. Especially when it comes to animals. She is deeply sensitive and compassionate
She also gave me another gift: the love for travel the world. Thanks to her, I traveled from a very young age
She encouraged languages, curiosity, openness
She made sure I saw the world as something big and full of possibilities
My mother is also incredibly intuitive
We have a relationship where we can talk about anything. Sometimes more like friends than mother and daughter. And she always gives wise advice
More importantly, she has always believed in me
And I think a big part of the woman I became today comes from a simple desire:
To make sure that all her sacrifices were worth it
To make her proud
She went through situations that were hard and painful
But she never lost her optimism
She always protected me
She always moved forward
And she always gave everything she had
My mother actually doesn’t like International Women’s Day
She always says:
“Women’s day is every day.”
And honestly… she might be right
But today I still wanted to celebrate her
Because she is the most important woman in my life
And I truly cannot imagine having a better mother than her
Her resilience
Her strength
Her generosity
Her confidence
Her love
Everything I am today started with her
And for that…
I will always be grateful
