One of my first professional photos.
I was six years old.

With my older brother Gerbrand.
This American shirt was my favorite.

My very first real test shoot for my
modeling portfolio.
This photo was taken in Belgium

One of my first modeling jobs,
18 years old

I was born and raised in a small farming village in the Netherlands named Ysbrechtum. Growing up there was a lot of fun! My brother and I were very close, and my friends and I played at nearby farms, milking cows, riding horses, chasing roosters and generally raising hell. Yes, you heard me right, I actually milked cows.... It was fun to learn at first, and later on I did it to make extra money.

I went to high school at a nearby town called Sneek (pronounced Snake). Believe it or not, I didn't have a boyfriend in high school. But it didn't matter so much, because I thoroughly enjoyed academic life and was really into studying and getting good grades. What a geek!

During my senior year I sent a school picture to a magazine that was holding a modeling contest -- the winner would receive a contract with a modeling agency in Brussels, Belgium. I didn't win, but I didn't lose either, because the agency backing the contest offered me a contract too!

Now, I'd always planned to continue my studies in foreign languages in college, as well as international public relations. My goal was to try to get a job working for a multinational company like Philips Electronics (yes, it's a Dutch company) or work for a news agency as a foreign correspondent. But this new opportunity to become a model just looked too good to turn down. I figured I would do it for a year and then go back to college to continue my studies. Well, my career took off, and I don't think I could have gotten a better education in languages, international relations and corresponding (with my agencies, that is) in any university. What started out as one year turned into many, as I jet-setted around European cities including Milan, Paris, Madrid, London and a lot of different places in Germany, and took some amazing trips throughout North Africa, Australia and eventually America.