Robyn Lawley: My crush growing up was Leonardo DiCaprio. That changed when I met him

Robyn Lawley is a model best known for being on the cover of Vogue Italia in 2011 and as the face of Inika Organic. The 34-year-old discusses meeting her childhood celebrity crush, changing the opinions of male photographers and why she doesn’t want to get married.

“I love listening to [my partner] Everest speak passionately about our environment; there is nothing sexier to me than seeing him care about Mother Nature.”Credit: Amy Hibbard

My earliest memory of my paternal grandfather, John Lawley, was seeing him in hospital after he suffered multiple strokes. He died when I was four. The fragility of life and death was shown to me then and my nan never recovered from the loss.

My father, Chris, was a fireman and a jet refueller with the Australian air force. He was very tall and a nice person who everyone asked for favours. He did shift work, so I would often watch movies while he was asleep. It’s probably why my daughter is named Ripley, after the Alien movies.

Dad was a man of few words. He would take us camping, was my netball coach for one season and would always drive and pick us up whenever one of his three daughters needed him. He always encouraged us to do what we wanted career-wise – to go forth and conquer. And when shit hit the fan, he was always there for us, too.

Dad was the safest person I knew. Everything had to be done correctly. He passed away from an acinic cell carcinoma a few years ago aged 67. My sister Shona is 2½ years older than me and is set on saving lives, like my father. She is a paramedic and an incredible person. My other sister, Jennifer, who’s seven years older than me, is an architect in Tasmania.

My celebrity crush growing up was Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. I got to meet him at a party in LA when I was 27 and stared at him like a weirdo! After that, I wasn’t attracted to him. It had the opposite effect.

When I finished high school, I became an exchange student and lived in France for eight months. I had French “brothers” slightly older than me – it was the weirdest but coolest experience. Florent and Sylvain taught me how to speak French and I still consider them family.

I fell in love with my first boyfriend, Daniel, when I was 18. We dated for two years. He was very sweet. However, my modelling career started growing and I was living between Australia and the US. It became too challenging in the end. We tried to make long distance work but it didn’t.

Being photographed by Steven Meisel for the Vogue Italia cover in 2011 was a career highlight. It was the first time they’d featured curvy women on the cover, and it was incredible to be part of that moment. I love changing the opinion of male photographers if they come to a set with a preconceived idea of curvy women being unable to model. Steve embraced the curve.

I met my current partner, Everest Schmidt, when I was 21. He was so handsome. I have a group of friends to thank as they were talking with his friends, but all I could do was stare at him and he did the same thing back. We fell in love very fast. Within two weeks, we confessed our love.

Everest is a very kind and sweet man, definitely the listener, not the talker, in the room. He was a student when we met. Now he works as a lawyer and went vegan when I did.

I love listening to Everest speak passionately about our environment; there is nothing sexier to me than seeing him care about Mother Nature. I fell pregnant five years into the relationship and we had our daughter eight years ago.

When I was 25, I was diagnosed with a blood-clotting disorder, which stems from lupus. I then suffered from post-stroke epilepsy. Everest has supported me on every step of this health journey. He is amazing.

I don’t have any interest in marriage and nor does he. We are in a committed relationship and the idea of having a wedding is my worst nightmare!

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