Doutzen Kroes didn’t tell anyone about her modelling plans

Doutzen Kroes didn’t tell anybody that she wanted to become a model in her teens.
The supermodel was born in the small town of Eastermar in the Netherlands, and as a sporty teenager with a penchant for speed-skating and cycling, had never considered a modelling career until she read a fashion magazine at the age of 18. That was when she decided to send pictures to a local modelling agency, but fearing rejection, decided not to share her dream with anybody.
“If it didn’t work out I didn’t want anyone to know I’d tried,” Doutzen admitted in an interview with the Evening Standard, adding that when her first photoshoot was published in print, she played it very cool. “I brought the magazine to school, and I opened it and was like, ‘Oh! What a coincidence!’”
Since then, the 33-year-old has walked the runway for some of the biggest fashion houses in the world, including Versace, Prada and Valentino. She also served as a Victoria’s Secret Angel for seven years and was the face of L’Oreal Paris for over a decade, but as a little girl, her career aspirations were very far removed from the fashion industry.
“My dream was always to go to Borneo to work with orangutans,” she explained. “As a kid I never really liked going to zoos. There was something in me that meant I knew I wanted to work with animals, nature and environmental protection.”
In 2016, the mother-of-two used her platform to launch the #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign to raise money for the Elephant Crisis Fund.
Spanish luxury brand Loewe recently contributed to the scheme by releasing a new version of its Elephant Mini Bag, and donating all proceeds to the charity, and of the partnership, Doutzen said she was pleased: “luxury brands are actually tapping into the fact that customers want to buy luxury items and give back at the same time.”