E!'s New Star gets Green with Envi
Carrie's perfect friend, Victoria Silvstedt
talks about her past, and tell us why she now has the perfect life
By Luann Lee
Photos by Steven James May
Styled by Michael Holdaway
Born in a tiny village in Northern Sweden, Victoria Silvstedt is a dazzling constellation of light whose brightly shining rays extend far beyond the land of the midnight sun. Upon laying eyes on her and finally catching your breath again; a few words quickly jump to mind. Among them are stunning, statuesque, and sensational. She is all these things and much, much more and when she walks into a room men notice her for all the obvious reasons, but women are instantly drawn to her warm elegance and approachable demeanor. The personification of grace and beauty under pressure at almost 6' tall Victoria stands alone in the international television hosting and modeling world, clearly at the top of her game.
After attending school in a "little Swedish village"" Victoria moved to Paris at eighteen where she immediately signed with an agent who sent her out on 10 casting calls a day right out of the gate. Scared and lonely, but determined to succeed she showed up at every audition, large or small, sick or well, whether or not she felt like going.
Looking at her today it's obvious there was never any doubt this blonde bombshell would make it, but as a young, naïve, inexperienced girl she had fears about her future, but the new world awaiting her was very welcoming indeed.
Internationally recognized as a TV host, actress, movie star, former Guess? Model, Playmate of the Year (1997), 2002 Maxim Woman of the Year and 1993 Miss Sweden, this woman has it all. Blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a voluptuous figure, Victoria's career is on fire. This girl can turn you green with envy, but that's not the only thing about her that's green. An ardent supporter of green technology, Victoria shared with me some of the ideals her parents taught her at an early age. "My parents were green before it was even popular. Sweden is one of the most eco-conscious countries in the world, so it's just natural to live that way. I was raised a vegetarian and was taught small things at first as a child, like don't use too much detergent in the wash, don't leave the heat on in the house when you leave, don't run the water when you're not brushing your teeth." Sounds trite now, but it gave her a good base to start from. "Now, in addition to all of those small things, many of my family members drive Hybrid cars as well."
Victoria currently lives in NYC, but her suitcase is rarely ever unpacked. Victoria just co-hosted the equivalent of the American Music Awards for the European audience which featured Beyonce, The Jonas Brothers and Rhianna. She is hosting a show in France called "La Ve Fortune" (a French version of "Wheel of Fortune") and is a movie star in Italy as well. But it is Victoria's new gig that is her pay off for all of her years of pounding international pavement in her quest for stardom. She is currently has her own reality show titled, "Victoria Silvstedt, My Perfect Life," airing on E! Entertainment Television. The show follows Victoria as she jet-sets around the world being drop-dead adorable. They filmed in Helsinki, St. Tropez, Paris, London, Stockholm Rome, New York and Los Angeles. "It's airing already in Australia, Europe, South America and Asia. The show will air in the United States staring April 4th."
I asked Silvstedt, "Envi-image.com is such an important site with valuable and fashionable information. Was it difficult to fit shooting with her into your busy schedule?" She was quick to reply, "Carrie Stevens is my dearest friend and I would never say no to her. I love her website and I think it's a good cause." "Besides, I want to share all that I learned as a child, plus what I do today too. In addition to all of the things my parents taught me, now I wear eco-friendly, natural, toxin free makeup and use many other green products. I don't eat red meat. I'm not completely green, maybe just 10%. But it's a start!"
When Victoria's reality show came to Los Angeles to document Victoria reminiscing about her Playboy past, she asked her best Playmate pal (and Envi-image founder) Carrie Stevens to be with her in the episode. Victoria and Carrie shared some not so private, yet precious time together that week. Victoria agreed to be Carrie's cover girl have E! film the shoot for her reality show while Steven May photographed her for Envi-image). Camera crews were rolling while Victoria caused a big stir down along the Santa Monica boardwalk. She shared with me, "Many people stopped to watch and some were Swedish tourists that all started shouting, "It's Victoria, Victoria! I got distracted, lost my footing a bit on the sand and the top of the garment fell down exposing both my breasts! I was so embarrassed."
I'm sure she made one memorable day at the beach for all who were watching.
I asked her where she foresees her life to be in the next 5 years. "I'm about to turn 34 and I really want to focus on having a family. I cannot put into my head that this is a career that will last forever; you just have to go with the flow but I'm open to all possibilities". "I'm very close with my family, I talk to my mother every day in Sweden, I rely on her so much and I want a family life like that too."
Victoria never envisioned her career to be where it is today, but lucky for us it is. Watching how this smart, unpretentious, beautiful, super-star lives in a "going green" way is inspiring to us all. She proves that you don't have to be dark green immediately, but it's good to start somewhere, even if it's just "light green" and go forward from there.
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