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The speaker is not a Ph.D. or best-selling author.
But she is gorgeous.
It may be obvious, but coming from her it’s revelatory, almost shocking.
But that’s exactly what she’s doing.
“I had a feeling it would get a lot of viewers!”
You may be thinking, Oh, that’s richa supermodel criticizing our focus on appearances!
But the irony of her position isn’t lost on Russell.
“It has certainly been a blessing in my life,” she says.
“But it’s always seemed fairly invented to me.”
“It doesn’t matter how many covers I’ve shot,” she says, proudly.
“When people on the street stop me, it’s to talk about TED.”
She’s got a face that could launch a thousand ships.
How might it warp my ego?
Though she may look like the consummate fashion insider, Russell has always inhabited a world of her own.
“I grew up thinking it didn’t matter at all,” says Russell.
The family home was a media desert in which television was limited and books on tape encouraged.
I wonder what she does.
In place of pop culture, Russell cultivated other interestslike becoming president of the United States.
“I was just obsessed with politics,” she says.
and she’d say, ‘Ronald Reagan.'"
In elementary school, Russell volunteered as an intern for local political campaigns.
“I was always up for a debate,” she recalls.
In junior high, Russell was unmoved by makeup or clothes.
“I was bullied,” she says.
“I was shrimpy and uncool.
I’d literally be kicked in the bathroom.”
Top: Sweater, $850, and pants, $1,175, Prabal Gurung;Stylebop.com.
Necklace, Balmain, $1,645; Barneys New York.
Belt, Prabal Gurung X Bond Hardware
Above: Red top, $108;Mikoh.com.
Navy bodysuit, Atea Oceanie, $225;TheLine.com.
Pants, Calvin Klein Collection, $1,895; 212-292-9000
Styled by Melissa Ventosa Martin.
Photo Credit: Thomas Whiteside
