GUESS Girl Bregje Heinen opens up about craziest photo shoot
Fox411: Dutch model Bregje Heinen talks about growing up in a small town, the pickup line that will never work on her, and why some may find her 'boring'
Dutch model Bregje Heinen has been striking a pose since she was 14 after being discovered on social media. That was nine years ago, and the 24-year-old has since walked the runway for Victoria’s Secret, graced the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, and appeared on the cover of Maxim. And now, Heinen can call herself a GUESS Girl.
Heinen spoke with Fox News about growing up in a small town, the pickup line that will never work on her, and why some may find her “boring”:
Fox News: Before you became a model, you grew up in the Netherlands. What was that like?
Bregje Heinen: It’s a small town called Borculo that has about 7,000 people and it’s two hours away from Amsterdam. There are two bars and not much else to do. But it’s really nice and I have the best memories from my childhood. When I grew up, I thought it was boring, but now looking back, it’s so nice, especially in the summer. It has a lake where you can hang out with your friends and everybody knows each other.
Fox News: How were you discovered?
Heinen: I was discovered in 2007 on this website called Hyves that’s like a Dutch version of Facebook. A lot of Dutch models were actually discovered through there. Photographers have asked me before to model, but it didn’t really sound legit. But then I came across Micha Emmering-Krijger of Micha Models. She seemed legit and my parents looked into it. Then we went to meet with her, me and my mom, my dad, and all my sisters, and even my dog! I I did a test shoot and then we just started working right away from there.
Fox News: How do you physically prepare to look amazing in your photos?
Heinen: I try to work out 2-3 times a week, which is pretty tough sometimes because my schedule is always changing and I’m constantly traveling. But like a couple days before a shoot I like to eat clean and drink a lot of water. And especially for lingerie shoots, I try to stay away from sweets, which is my biggest guilty pleasure. I love, love sugar and anything involving sugar, cookies, whatever — I love it all.
I try not to eat as many at least a few days before a shoot. I do a lot of boxing, which is basically the only thing I enjoy because I don’t like the gym very much. It’s good to find that one thing you do enjoy and really try to stick with that. I’ll also do some leg and ab exercises, along with cardio in between. So it’s 15 minutes of boxing, another 15 for abs, and then another 15 for legs. It’s getting a full body workout, while keeping it fun.
Fox News: What are three fun facts our readers should know about you?
Heinen: I love to paint on canvas. I don’t think a lot of people know that. I’m very creative, so that’s something I love to do during my free time. Another fun fact is I have three French bulldogs that I pretty much hang out with all day. And another one, I’m really boring. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I drink tea all day. People always think that as a model, you have this crazy life and you’re constantly partying. I’m the very opposite of that. I like to be home with my dogs and paint. And because I’m from [the Netherlands] people say, ‘Oh, you must smoke weed!’ I don’t actually. No.
Fox News: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever had to do for a good photo?
Heinen: I went to Iceland about two months ago and it was about 40 degrees. It was freezing. I was half-naked pretty much. Wearing very little clothes, like always. And I had to be in the water. It was so cold. And yet you still had to look like you’re warm and comfortable. That for me was really crazy. So far, I haven’t jumped out of a plane or shot with snakes. I actually wouldn’t do that because I’m terrified of them. I did shoot with a bird, though.
Fox News: What’s the worst pickup line you’ve ever heard?
Heinen: Oh God. There’s so many. The worst one that I actually hate the most is when a guy comes up to you and he doesn’t know what to say, so he’ll go, ‘Are you a model?’ It’s like, they don’t know what else to say. It’s so annoying because it makes it awkward when you go, ‘Yes, I am.’ I hate that one.
Then they ask a whole bunch of questions like, ‘What do you model for, clothes?’ Well yeah, what else? I don’t know, I just hate when they ask that because when you say yes, they get really impressed and want to know everything.
Fox News: Take us back to that day when you were shooting your first GUESS campaign.
Heinen: It was super fun. I shot the jean campaign and I also did lingerie. We were shooting in a house and I remember it was really cold, despite that it was in California. It was rainy, just my luck, right? But everyone was super nice and chill.
Fox News: What was going through your mind when you saw the photos for the first time?
Heinen: I loved them! It’s funny, when you do shoots all day, you have no idea what the pictures look like or which ones made the cut. You’re just busy working and you don’t get to look at the screen too much. But I loved the photos. I'm really happy with them. Really happy. It was so exciting and I was thrilled with the clothes, just everything.
Fox News: How did your family react?
Heinen: My mom loves them. She’s my biggest supporter. She always texts me right away... GUESS was one of those brands we all grew up with in our small town. So it was definitely a big deal for everyone.
Fox News: What’s next for you?
Heinen: Right now, I’m really trying to focus on my career and just better myself. I don’t have one set goal. I just hope that my career gets bigger and bigger… but in the future, I definitely want to focus on my art and interior design, eventually. But that’s down the line, not anytime soon. I really want to volunteer at an animal shelter, but it’s so hard because of my schedule. But that’s still on my mind. As for modeling, I love it and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
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