I was spotted in Glasgow and asked to enter a competition to find the Highland Spring Face of 1995 by the Storm agency. I won the Edinburgh heat, then I won the title in London and moved there aged 16.
After graduating from University, I began directing in theatre too, and I've been directing, writing and acting ever since, which has allowed me to continue this traveler lifestyle.
I was acting before I was modelling, when I was very young, doing the Edinburgh Festival and that sort of stuff.
I've been inspired for a long time by Nicole Holofcener. I admire her greatly as an auteur, examining the human condition in a funny, growing, spirited, honestly dark and human way.
I'm not a Method person, so I'm not like in character all the time.
And oddly, when I was a kid I used to look at junkyards and I wanted to have one of my own.
The Woman' came off the back of a film called 'Offspring' in which I played the same character.
I completely love directing.
And being an actor already means that working with cast as a director, I have a clear understanding of their position and that collaboration is great and useful.
As far as Lauryn Canny's performance as 'Darlin', it was just so incredibly nuanced and raw and and she's such a hypnotizing person to watch on screen.
I now don't mind if people know about my modelling because I don't feel like it really matters. I feel like I have proved myself as an actress, to some degree.
The worst fear you can have coming from a modelling background is that you're going to be a model-turned- actress - a mattress, that's what I call them, ironically, I hope.
I'm from Scotland, one of four daughters, and we grew up moving every few years between Scotland, Portugal, Colombia and Scotland again.
I've been working for a while with a Scottish suicide prevention charity called The Joshua Nolan Foundation that brings the conversation about mental health into schools and provides free counseling for those who need it.
I felt that 'The Woman' was a feminist movie at heart.
I think 'ex-model,' especially in the UK, smacks of being shallow and stupid and having no soul.
I like having a laugh, I like feeling really comfortable on set, so with a sex scene, it's always really planned out for me beforehand.
I feel that nudity can sometimes be quite distracting and take something away from a film because we're not used to seeing it.
I do try to do work I believe in and things I'm going to be proud of.
It was never a question of, 'Do I get to go and direct?' It just made sense.
