Adrianne Curry – Top Model, Television Personality—Next Stop . . . Author!
 
Adrianne Curry was the first winner of “America’s Next Top Model.” After one year she went on to star in the television reality show “The Surreal Life,” where she met her husband, former Brady Bunch cast member Peter Brady. Their union spun off to the highest rated VH-1 show “My Fair Brady.” Adrianne appeared on such television sitcoms as ABC‘s "Hot Properties" and UPN’s "Half and Half," among others. She has taken on the big screen as well, in films such as Worlds Apart and Fallen Angels. Her modeling career has extended to include campaigns and runway shows for Famous Stars and Straps, Beverly Hills Choppers, Jaime by Jaime Presley, Cuffz by Linz, and Ed Hardy, to name a few. Adrianne has landed pictorials in Marie Claire, Sync, and Maxim, where she also made the prestigious "Maxim Hot 100" list of the world’s most beautiful women. She’s even writing a book.
 
I visited Adrianne at her South Bay home, where she and her husband were still in the process of decorating. Her two cats hung around, occasionally scrapping as we chatted about her career. Adrianne shared with me very candidly what she’s been up to since “Top Model.”
 
I followed "America's Next Top Model (ANTM)" so I kind of know how you got your start. Why don’t you enlighten our readers on what you’ve been doing since you won.
 
Since I won in 2003, I’ve been keeping pretty busy with reality television . . . and some modeling here and there.
 
What was it like to win ANTM?
 
Winning “Top Model” for me was absolutely life-changing. I don’t know how to describe it. I had a life that was kind of almost living in hopelessness to having hope in my life. It took a while to get things going [after my win]. I got shipped off to Europe and traveled the world. I got put with an agency, [which] wasn’t a fan of the show [and I was] in a two-year deal, so I had to fight through that. [As a result I went on “The Surreal Life”] and started my television career. I met my husband Christopher Knight on that show. But that’s okay because at least I didn’t meet my husband on one of those loser dating shows. I’d walk in and say, “You’re going to make your decision now! Either you’re gonna come after me or I’m leaving, ‘cause I am not going to be your whore. Sorry Guy.” She laughs.
 
“The Surreal Life” branched off to three seasons so far of “My Fair Brady.” We’re one of VH1’s highest rated shows. Did celebrity paranormal project. I did a cameo in a few shows. I was on “Dirt” with Courtney Cox, “Hot Properties,” which used to be on ABC. Right now I am in the middle of writing a book and really close to closing a show deal to start producing and creating my own shows.
 
Tell me about your book.
 
It’s basically about the story of my life. I had a really troubled youth, huge drug and self-esteem problems. I was into self-mutilation. I’m really opening the floodgates, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to help other people that are going through the same thing. I feel confident in writing it because even though it’s a dark story, it has an amazing ending. So it will uplift at the end. But it’s taken a toll on me. You get into really heavy stuff. There are things I hadn’t really talked about with my friends. I just recently called them up to tell them I was writing a book [and what it was about] and there was just this stunned silence. After the silence the normal response was, “Yeah, now that you say that, I could see that was probably happening with you. I didn’t even think it through. But now that I’m older, it makes sense.”
 
One year I went to school as Marilyn Manson, and I cut myself all up just like he used to. And everyone thought [my costume looked so real] and they jabbed me in these cuts and I would react “ough!” It was crazy. Who does that? Me. (Laughs). So I’m writing a book about it.
 
If you’re doing it, so are other people.
 
I know. Self-mutilation is a big problem. The problem is it feeds you temporary relief. It’s really strange. When you’re feeling a lot of pain inside, you cut yourself. It’s like punishing yourself to feel better, and it’s not a good thing. It can come in all forms—people who verbally beat themselves up to people who physically beat themselves up.
 
You’re going to help a lot of young people. As one of the top bloggers on Myspace, you already have an audience for this book.
 
Out of a million blogs on Myspace, I’m always in the top 5, and they do a million blogs a day. I think my book will appeal to more than just my fans. If anyone wants to just look into the life of a child raised from abuse—though mine didn’t come from my family, thank God—I’ll be able to show what parents can look for in their kids. They’ll know their kids are [messed] up and that they need to help them. And I think that’s good.
 
Is your family very supportive of what you’re doing now?
 
My family is very supportive of anything I decide to do. A lot of them are very religious and they don’t always agree with what I’m doing, but they always support me. And I would say that’s probably one of the most important things. So I would say that I am blessed that I have a family that most people would envy. But I always get [in trouble] all the time for things I say in the press [especially with my grandma].
 
Tell me about your husband.
 
My husband, Christopher Knight, was in “The Brady Bunch.” He played Peter Brady. We’ve been married two years. I never liked “The Brady Bunch.” Thought they were kind of lame. So I married one. That’s what’s funny about it.
 
Do you have any aspirations to get on the big screen at all?
 
I don’t have any aspirations to become an actor. If someone wants a cameo where I can be myself . . . fine. I’ve carved a niche of being a personality. If there’s a fun movie like Scary Movie, sure! Am I the next Angelina Jolie? Hell no! My realistic dreams and aspirations are to get more behind the lens so that I can be in front or behind. And once the front dies, I will have all the experience of being behind. I’ve been a co-executive producer and producer. I really want to learn those ropes. I think that’s a more realistic expectation than acting alongside Bruce Willis. I love being myself. Why would I want to sit there for months on end pretending to be somebody else?
 
Highest High
 
Not the day that I got my first Playboy cover, because that was pretty big, but the day I got my second Playboy cover, because this was a magazine that Cindy Crawford had posed in, that huge stars have posed in. And to be in that magazine before, God forbid anything happens to Hugh Hefner, I was a part of that. And no matter what happens to me in my life, I’m going to have that and say, “I was a part of that.” I’ll be 90 years old saying, “Your grandma was smoking back in the day! Come look at these pictures, yeah!”—Especially since they came out so artistic. I was looking to accentuate the modelesque features. My second spread was all European-looking with rich French interiors and just wearing long flowing robes and lush shoes and materials. Everything was designer, and that’s what I was going for when I saw it. It was so Vogue. To work with Stephen Wayda was absolutely amazing. He totally got my vision of who I was and what I needed to portray. I wanted a story, which I got with each shoot. It was awesome.
 
What about the second Playboy shoot?
 
The second shoot was very Helmut Newtonesque, very Stanley Kubrick Eyes Wide Shut. It was just lush and rich, voyeuristic and grand. It’s probably the best work that I’ve ever done.
 
What’s the most interesting shoot that you’ve done besides Playboy?
 
The most interesting shoot that I’ve done was for Merit Diamond and their Sirena collection. And we filmed underwater. For an entire night I had an oxygen tank and a regulator at the bottom of the pool with weights on my calves. I couldn’t see anything. I was under there for so long, I came up at the end of the night and I just puked all over the outside of this pool because my equilibrium was off. We had divers there instructing us what was good and what was not good for me, and they got really mad because at the end of the commercial they wanted me swimming from the bottom of the pool and bursting out of the pool. Well, the first you know about diving is you can’t do that. You have to slowly come up, equalize, I didn’t do that and that’s what got me so sick. I kept bursting out [over and over again]—I’m a mermaid . . . I puked everywhere, and everyone was so grossed out. I’m in the pool and everyone’s in wetsuits, and I asked them what did they do when they had to go to the bathroom? They all smiled [devilishly] and I was like [gross], my mouth has to be open under water! That was the craziest shoot I ever did. It was really elaborate and everything was so strange, but we did have a great time. That was in Florida about three years ago.
 
You still do a lot of modeling now?
 
I haven’t been signed to an agency in a very long time. I only take the modeling that comes to me. I loved modeling from Travis Barker’s line, Stars and Straps, because it was so edgy and rocker.
 
So you really have just moved 100% into television?
 
Absolutely! First of all I’m 25 years old. That’s way too old for this industry. Most models last until they’re 21 and they’re thrown away. But I’m going to do things in this industry from being who I am. As I was flipping through Fredericks of Hollywood, I thought I would like to do this. They have really cleaned up their image. They’re very Victoria Secret. I like it, but they’re edgier. They’re me. I have Frederick’s everything. I said, “Maybe I should call them.” Realistically, I’m not pin-thin anymore. I can’t do the runways in New York anymore. I tortured myself to walk the ones that I did. I hadn’t eaten in like three weeks, and I’m walking down the runway all gaunt, dying, and that’s just not for me. And it’s so great to be able to go on television, make money from that and [instead] let modeling be something that’s fun. But I’m probably going to sign with another agency soon. I like Ford. I just had a bad experience with my last one because they were angry with “Top Model” so they took it out on me. And that was ugly.
 
Lowest Low:
 
I was in Cape Town, South Africa [and got treated so badly there. They actually told me they wanted to stick it to “Top Model”] and I was stuck in this two-year contract. I ran out of money and they wouldn’t even get any of my money wired to me. I had to ask my mother, who couldn’t afford it, could I have some money. I wrote Tyra Banks, and I had asked for her advice before. She was my angel when I won “Top Model.” I saw her as a deity that saved my life and I really respected her. I loved her and I thought that she was my friend. But then the realization that it was all just TV hit me when the advice wasn’t forthcoming. I got so frustrated and angry, I wrote her hate mail. I just felt so down. My career was over. I had no money. I thought, she’s not even going to help me or even give me any advice, so I wrote . . . an angry letter. Then I went home and didn’t know what I was going to do until I heard about that show “The Surreal Life.” I saw how it had resurrected other careers. It had been one year since I won “Top Model” and I was already old news. No one cared about me. And I decided to go on the show, and things changed. But that was the lowest of the lows for me. Because I really thought it was over. In fact I had packed up, moved back home to Joliet, Illinois, and was living there for four months before I got the gig for “The Surreal Life.” I had at least traveled the world, but it took all my money.
 
What advice would you give to those trying to pursue their dream?
 
Always have a backup plan. My plan when this is all over is to go to college. Don’t let this industry destroy you, because it eats souls for a living, especially the modeling world. I remember I was running up and down subway stairs to get to castings, and I had really built up my thighs. I didn’t mean to. It just happens. They told me, “Oh my God, look how fat your thighs have gotten.” I said, "Get over here. Touch it. It’s like a rock! That’s not fat.” All they could say was I needed to lose it. So I asked them if they were going to buy me a car with a chauffeur. Otherwise, it’s not going anywhere. They’re very harsh. And you have to be a really strong person.
 
Visit the following websites to learn more about Adrianne Curry: www.adriannemcurry.com and www.myspace.com/adricurry.
 
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples

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