Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on overcoming constant criticism

Karlie Kloss may have replaced Elle Macpherson as ‘The Body’ of the modelling world, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is not content to let the grass grow under her feet. She might not have appeared on the Victoria’s Secret runway as one of the lingerie giant’s ‘Angels’ last month, but she still knows a thing or two about lucrative curves. Huntington-Whiteley was photographed by Tom Munro for the cover of Bazaar ‘s January issue. But, she tells the magazine, her poll position in the fashion industry was not an easy accomplishment. When she moved to the US from Devon, she says she had to listen to constant criticism of her physique:

“All I kept hearing was ‘Honey, you gotta change this; your hair’s this; your legs are that; you’re not enough this; you’re not enough that; you’re too much this; why are you wearing that?’ And so it was a constant stream of judgement. “I have a different feeling when I come back to England; as soon as I touch down in Heathrow and drive into London and down to Devon, there’s a sense of home and belonging. I will never feel that in America, it doesn’t matter how long I live there – and I’ve come to terms with that. I really am so proud to be British.”

But the comfort of home won’t keep her in Devon for long.

“I knew I was going to leave Devon,” she says, “and whatever I did, it would be big.”