English model, actress and singer Twiggy has revealed that she never planned to go into modelling.
Twiggy, 73, whose full name is Dame Lesley Lawson, rose to prominence as a model in the 1960s, and has appeared on the front cover of fashion magazines Vogue and Tatler.
Discussing her career, including an appearance in musical film The Boy Friend, Twiggy told Good Housekeeping: “I’ve spent my life doing things that I didn’t plan to do.
“I didn’t plan to model. I definitely didn’t plan to do a musical film with Ken Russell and I certainly didn’t plan to star on Broadway in a big musical. I must be mad!”
Russell wrote and directed The Boy Friend, which also starred ballet dancer Christopher Gable and EastEnders actress Barbara Windsor.
Twiggy has also been involved in Close Up – The Twiggy Musical, written and directed by comedian Ben Elton and slated to open in September.
She said: “I only get involved with projects that really spark something in me, with people I love and want to work with.
“Ben Elton is an old friend and I love him to bits.
“He’s a huge talent – so clever and such a sweet man.
“The musical came about when we were having dinner about six years ago and he said, half-jokingly: ‘I should do your story! It’s an amazing story set in an amazing period – I should write it.’”
The musical traces the model’s rise to stardom in a show filled with music from the 1960s and 70s.
Twiggy also talked about her marriage to English actor Leigh Lawson and said: “(Leigh and I) have been together for 38 years, which is frightening! I suppose luck has a lot to do with it.
“You never know when you meet somebody how it’s all going to turn out or what life is going to throw at you.
“We’ve both been through things that didn’t work out for various reasons and when you’ve had that experience, you’re a little gentler when you meet someone else.”
Lawson is also a director and writer and he has credits in TV shows including Silent Witness, Travelling Man, Absolutely Fabulous and The Red Tent.
The September 2023 issue of Good Housekeeping is now on sale.
