The Journal. - My Monday Morning: Twiggy

Episode Date: September 13, 2026

Twiggy is one of the most recognizable supermodels of the 20th century. Now the documentary, “Twiggy” about her career and life is being released in the U.S. In My Monday Morning, a new Journal video series inspired by the longstanding column of the same name, Lane Florsheim sits down with Twiggy about her documentary, the many tuxedos in her closet and the unusual secret to her success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Twiggy, and this is my Monday morning. Twiggy is one of the most iconic models of all time. She's the face of 66, the famous, dough-eyed pixie girl. She's got a new biographical documentary about to come out in the U.S., and it covers her meteoric rise as a model, and how she left modeling after just a few years to act, sing, and raise her daughter. For her Monday morning, Twiggy told me about making her documentary, the many tuxedos in her closet and the unusual secret to her success.

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into one coordinated plan. They will help you make confident decisions about your wealth and your future. Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Visit IGPrivatewealth.com to find an advisor near you. I'm so excited to be talking to you today for my Monday morning. And congratulations on this documentary, which is so fantastic. Thank you.

I'm so glad you liked it. It's a peculiar sensation for me because it's my life. And to see your life up on the big screen is mixed emotions. as you can imagine. What was the mix for you? Oh, my goodness. Well, the first time I saw a first cut, I think I cried through most of it

because, you know, there's footage of my mum and dad, who obviously are no longer with us. There's footage of my daughter, Carly, as a little girl, and now she's a grown woman with children of her own. I mean, we're very close still, but just to see her that young, And, you know, the sad parts of my life were all in the docu as well as the funny and nice parts. So it was very mixed emotions.

I mean, there were so many clips that were just so special. Like, I loved seeing you on Broadway in my one and only. That pool scene was fantastic. Yeah, that's the happy part. For me, professionally, that's for me, my favorite part of my career, I think. Well, I love I've loved everything I've done, but to actually appear on Broadway in a big hit musical was absolutely magical. You were, of course, called the face of 66.

What did the 60s mean to you? Well, you know, when you're living in a time, you know, I didn't think at the time, oh, this is an amazing time because it was just part of my life. You know, I was 16 years old. I was a schoolgirl before that all happened to me. So it was as much a shock to me when, you know, I was discovered as to the rest of the world because I didn't look like any other model, as you can see in the documentary. I was too small, I was 20 and if I'd have gone to a model agency, they would have said,

go away. You had to be 5'4 or 4, or I was 5'4 foot 6. You had to be certain measurements, and I was, as you can see, I was minute, this tiny little thing. I was 16. You were so young when you became famous. 16, like you've said. I was wondering, how is your relationship to fame changed throughout your career? I think it happened to me so young.

A lot of it kind of went over my head. It was like, it was so mad. Three months of being discovered and being on the front of all the British papers. I was in Paris doing the Paris Collecting for Elle magazine and then American Vogue. And sometimes it was a bit scary. I mean, I got mott at one point, and I thought I was going to get a squat. And I remember that the photographer that I was working with, he'd hired a bodyguard for me, which I thought,

or that's, you know, I don't need a bodyguard, I'll be fine. And thank God he did, because, you know, the crowd closed in, and he picked me up under his arm like a bundle and ran me through the crowd and got me to the car. We had a limo at the roadside. And he flew me through the window. I don't know. And I just remember landing on the floor of the limo and I'm saying, I'm all my mom, I was 17. I was, and a very, very naive and young 17. I'm not like, I meet 17 year olds today and

they're so sophisticated. One thing that you talk about in the documentary as well as in previous interviews is that you never had a plan. I was wondering, was never having a plan, like almost the secret to your success? Probably. Yeah. I mean, you know, I was 16. I was at school. So I didn't plan to do that. That's just what I looked like. Somebody saw me. Somebody cut my hair.

A journalist saw. And as I said earlier, I was as shocked as everybody else. I thought they'd gone mad. And so, you know, it was a shock more than anything, I think. But when it happened, as I say, it rollercoasted so fast. you know, I was in when it happened in London and then I was in Paris and then I went to New York prior to Ireland of Ireland

and I mean, I got to work with you know for the time I was 20 I'd work with all the grades and all the parties and I decided I wanted to pursue my performing career and because when you do something like the film you know you get offered other work So I kind of stop modeling by choice. There's also a clip in the documentary of this interview that's now become very famous of Woody Allen interviewing you.

And I'm going to briefly describe it for listeners who might not know about it. In it, he asks you about who your favorite philosopher is and you can't name one. But then you turn the question around on him and ask him the same thing. And he also isn't able to name one. I've got one. I don't know, I do. Are you sure? Oh, I, you know, I like, I like the mall. Who?

What was it? What was it like for you? Everyone says to me, you know, you were so clever. I was so, I was panic-stricken because that was done in front of an audience. You know, and I was just 17 years old. I was very, you can probably see, I was quite shy. You know, it was weird what I'd have. happened to me. So I was still kind of getting used to that. And I was used to people, when I did

interviews, I was used to people saying, how did you get your name or what do you eat? You know, what do you think of New York or what, you know, those sort of question. So when he opened with who's your favorite philosopher, oh my God. And I remember, I can remember the feeling to this day, my stomach, I was like, oh my God, because I didn't know any philosophers. and I thought all I could think was don't cry don't cry because there's an audience say but all I wanted to do was leave I didn't want to be there

and so in my panic I kindly looked at him and said well can me some of that because I said I think I don't know any and he said oh come on everyone's got a favourite philosopher and I said well who's yours and he says something like your Greeks and your Romans are wearing

And I said, yeah, but what their names? And he says, you're Greeks and you're right now. And he couldn't. And he couldn't really either. But apparently that clip has gone viral, I've been told. Very viral. Looking back on it, do you see it as a feminist moment? I think that's how a lot of young women who have discovered it see it.

It wasn't planned, but it is quite a showing moment, I think. but it wasn't my favorite moment at the time, as it could have to. You know, I was a kid. I was this young kid who had been thrown into this mad world of fame, and it was bizarre. After the break, Twiggy talks about what she wears to feel powerful. New from Nespresso, blend wellness into your coffee routine with the coffee plus range infused with functional benefits.

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I'm participating in A&W locations in Ontario. Is there anything that you do on a Monday to set yourself up for success or prevent yourself from having a bad week? That's a tricky question for me, because I don't live a 9 to 5 or, you know, a weekend weekly existence because of what I do. Every week is different. Every day is different. I often don't know what I'm doing from one week to the next.

So I don't have a special Monday morning routine. I try. It's quite hard, but I try and live in the moment and focus on what I'm doing that day or that week. Is there a time that you like to be up by? And what do you kind of do first thing after waking up? Luckily, I'm a really good sleeper. I love my sleep. I can sleep.

I usually sleep between eight and eight and a half hours a night. I usually have herbal tea with cereal. I'll try and put walnuts and blueberries on because I read somewhere if you mix blueberries and walnuts, it's really good for your tummy. And then I'll go and have a shower or a bath. Us Brits love to have a bath. We like to just soak,

especially in the winter. It's nothing nice and we get into it in a lovely, smelly. hot bath and soap. And then whatever I'm doing, you know, I just imagine what I'm doing that later really, but that's my early routine. What do you like to do for exercise? I do Pilates once a week, which I love, because about 15 years ago, I had a kind of muscular problem with my lower back, and I was told by my paratro practice, you've got to start Pilates because it's building, you know, the England, and so I started then,

and I recommend Pilates to everyone. I wish I'd have started in my 20s, but I didn't. It's changed my life, actually. It's brilliant. And even if I can't go to class, I've got enough exercises now that I can do at home. So if I'm feeling a bit stressed or a bit tight,

I know what to do now. And I walk a lot. So I'm not fanatic. I don't do anything too over the top, but for my age and the way I feel, the Pilate is magical. And one of the things that the documentary recounts is that you famously created your look with three pairs of false eyelashes on top, and then these spiky eyelashes on the bottom that were inspired by a rag doll. What does your beauty routine look like these days? Oh, well, obviously I don't wear all those eyelashes.

young as you know, I was 16 and all that happened to be. Like most teenage girls, I think even today, you know, we played around with makeup and that was the makeup that I created. But today, I tend to, I never, ever go to bed in makeup. That is the biggest no-no ever. I never have and I never will. So when I get up, I just, you know, make sure my face is clean. I just clean it with water. I don't use soap on my face. And then I've got quite dry skin, so I moisturise quite well. And then if I'm at home, I don't put my tap on.

You know, if I'm just me or with my husband and my kids and grandkids, I just go all natural. But if I'm working or going out, you can see what I've got. It's this eye shadow, mascara. I like doing the blue in the eye there. And a little bit of base, a little bit of rouge. A bit of lip-y. That's me done.

I'm very fast. I can put makeup on in 10 minutes. One thing that the documentary makes really clear is that you're a fashion icon. Do you feel like an icon? How is it? Not really. It always makes me laugh, actually. But it's very flattering.

I love, apart from my performing career, I love designing and making clothes. So if I know I've got a free week, I'll put my head to that and get at my sewing machine and make things. But that's my hobby, really. You sew clothing yourself. Oh, yeah. I'm pretty good, actually. If I don't get another job, I can do that. But over the last few years, I've done a few collections. I love those.

And I think women of every age should have great choice to do. And I think there's a lot of women of my age group and around my age group, you know, in their 50, 60s, who want to look stylish. You want to be, they do want to look like they're 18, obviously, but they, you know, they want to look cool. And that's what I try to do when I design. When you're designing, where do you get your inspiration from? I personally love tailored clothing. And I love the square shoulders, you know, as we get from the 1940s. after the wall.

And I get inspiration from lots of things. But usually I tend to design the things I wouldn't wear, because then I get one and I can wear it. Well, one of the questions I wanted to ask you was what do you like to wear when you want to feel powerful or your best, that kind of thing? I tend to wear, I'm a trouser girl at heart. I very, very rarely wear dresses.

I love, if you look, If you look at my first album cover, for instance, my first recording, which was in the 70s, I'm wearing a white tuxedo trouser suit, like a man's suit. I had them made at an English tailors. And that's kind of gone through my life. I tend to wear great trousers suits and great colours. I've just bought one, actually, that's bright purple, with bow up in the sleeves and big trousers, they're great. And I'm not very good in high heels, so with trousers you can wear.

I love cowboy boots and I love sneakers, great color sneakers. I'm semi-casual, really. I'd hate to go somewhere feeling overdressed. Yes. It would be uncomfortable. I'd rather be slightly underdressed. Do you have a favorite clothing item of yours of all time? Probably if I had to pick anything, because it may not be the original one,

but I've always had a black tuxedo suit, man's tuxedo. In my, was it? Well, I've got a few actually. Some that I've designed, some that I've had. I just think they're so classy and so classic. And if we're going to an evening do, if I can't find a dress or something, I feel comfortable.

And I'll put on my very cheap black tuxedo with a bow tie. I love it. Oh, classic. And then the last question I always like to ask people is, do you have a piece of advice that's guided or been important to you in life? I think the best advice I've been given and that I always give to other people is be kind to people. Because if you're kind, you get it back. And I wish it was happening more of the world. Kindly seems to have gone out the window in many parts of the world, which is, you know,

very, very upsetting for everybody, especially the people living through it. So I think, you know, try and be kind and understanding, really. Well, thank you so much for your interview. And congratulations again on this documentary. It was so fun chatting with you about it. Thank you. My Monday Morning is part of The Journal, which is a co-production of Spotify Studios and the Wall Street Journal. I'm Lane Flareshine, and we'll be back at in October with another episode of My Monday Morning. Follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And follow me on Instagram, at Lane Foreshine,

for more behind-the-scenes stuff from My Monday morning and to let me know what you think of the show. This episode was produced by Juvica Verma and edited by Catherine Brewer and Sarah Platt. Video production by Nathan Singapok. Original music by Nathan Singapok. Thanks so much for joining us. Insurance is entering a new era.

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