We spoke to actress and model Kelly Brook – on the cover – to find out what she’s been doing in Belgium and where she’s planning to go next
Kelly Brook’s choice of designers for a night out are Bruce Oldfield or Marchesa for red carpet events; when she’s sitting in the front row at fashion events she says she would opt for Isabel Marant, and for every day she wears J Brand jeans and the American Vintage label. But the designer names and up-market labels this British actress and model normally sports haven’t prevented her from promoting a range of glamorous party clothes for the high street chain New Look – she’s been working with them since 2007 – featured here in some of our photos.
FASHION ADVICE
Constantly photographed wherever she goes, Brook suggests investing in good shoes and handbags: “They always make an outfit look more expensive,” she explains. She tends not to follow fashion trends herself, but says she dresses for her shape. “I love the 1950s, so always try to find outfits that nip me in at the waist,” she says.
CLASSIC BUT SEXY
“I LIKE TO THINK MY STYLE I S CLASSIC, BUT SEXY”
“I like to think my style is classic, but sexy,” she says – a bit of an understatement from someone who has graced the cover of the American edition of Playboy. “Being on the cover of Playboy was a career high point – everyone from Cindy Crawford to Naomi Campbell has done it.”
Having studied at London’s Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Brook started modelling professionally when she was 16 and swiftly rose to national prominence, shortly followed by international recognition. With numerous films and TV acting and presenting roles to her credit, as well as several stage plays, and currently shooting for both television and cinema, Brook claims to prefer modelling to acting.
“I enjoy being on location,” she explains. “Modelling has taken me all over the world and I have worked with everyone from David Bailey to Ellen Von Unwerth, who shot the American Playboy cover. I am into clothes and style and I just love great photography.” Brook is also somewhat of an entrepreneur, with perfume and clothing among the lines that carry her name.
“REMAIN POSITIVE AND DON’T LOSE FAITH IN YOURSELF”
Clutching her treasured Hermes Birkin bag – contents: Chanel lipsticks, iPhone and credit card – Brook advises anyone aiming for a similar career to “rise above the critics and keep moving forward”. The secret, she says, is to “remain positive and don’t lose faith in yourself”.
IN SHAPE
With the eyes of just about everyone in the world on her figure, Brook concedes it is important for her to stay in shape and says she believes a balanced diet and exercise are vital, working out when she can with partner Thom Evans, a former Scotland International rugby player who is currently sprint training for the next Commonwealth Games.
“We have a fab recreation ground near where we live in London,” says Brook. “We go to the track and he gives me drills and exercises to do – I usually can’t walk for days afterwards, but I always see great results.”
Brook says she tries to eat regularly and never diets. “I love dancing and loathe going to the gym, so I have to enjoy exercise. I like walking my dog, riding my bike and Pilates.”
She partners Boris Johnson to promote the Mayor of London’s Sky Ride, part of a national campaign to get one million people cycling regularly by 2013. She is also employed by Reebok to front workout videos. But admits she remains partial to cups of tea and biscuits – the British HobNobs brand, to be precise.
FILMING
Brook has recently been in Belgium’s Waterloo shooting part of an upcoming live action series Metal Hurlant for French television, based on the French cult comic books. “My episode is Masters of Destiny and I co-star with Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis fame,” she explains. “We have eaten some great meals and drunk far too much, but are having a great time.”
Next stop is Belfast , in Northern Ireland, to play the femme fatale in a comedy with British comedian Leigh Francis, based on his alter ego Keith Lemon, to be released in the summer of 2012 – called Keith Lemon: The Film, it sees Lemon following his dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur, just like his hero Richard Branson.
Brook divides her time between London and Los Angeles, and says she’s planning to spend more time working in LA during 2012. She also owns a farmhouse in Kent where she’s intending to spend Christmas.
“I will be with my family in Kent building log fires and wearing silly Christmas jumpers. I am hoping to go somewhere warm for New Year, so maybe St Barths,” she muses, planning in any case to see in the New Year wherever she is with Thom Evans.
