After one former Vogue cover model who was once paid $1 million for only 20 days of work, she is now living on the streets, homeless, in Barcelona.
Natasia Urbano, who is 57-years-old, previously walked all of the major catwalks back in the 1980s.
Now, Urbano sleeps in the foyers of banks in the city.
When she was just 20-years-old, Urbano’s looks brought her to New York where she lived the high life.
She said: “I did all the magazines, I was loved by everybody. I was given a million dollars a year for only 20 days of work, for three or four years.”
“I was having dinner one day with Jack Nicholson, the following day with Andy Warhol or even Roman Polanski. I was in parties with Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, and Simon and Garfunkel.”
“I was about to go to Madonna’s wedding to Sean Penn because David Keith was invited and I was dating him at that time, but that day we got up with a hangover and couldn’t get up. I had everything, I was living like a queen.”
Then, Urbano’s life shifted when she then met the man who became her husband.
She says that he left her with nothing but the clothes on her back.
She added: “The only good thing from that relationship has been my children, the rest was horrible. He paid for everything with my money. Only two days after knowing him, he wanted me to buy a BMW and I, like a fool, I signed a check. I was in love.”
Urbano says that she has been evicted from a series of homes as she could not afford to pay rent.
She currently suffers from depression.
Now, she alternates between sleeping on friend’s couches and in bank foyers where automated doors give customers access to ATM’S.
“I want to live, not just survive. I am tired of surviving and asking for money. The people around me have gone away, everybody goes away and I am not surprised,” she shares.
“I want my children to see me well. I want to recover as a person and to be OK, so they can be proud of me.”
Urbano first began her fashion career in Barcelona and then went on to model for top brands like Revlon, Opium and Yves Saint Laurent — later making the cover of Vogue in 1981.
After hearing about Urbano’s state, a group of former colleagues set up a GoFundMe page.
The page states:
“If maybe you belong to the world of fashion, or if you have ever been touched by some of her fashion editorials, if you ever realized that most beautiful dreams can sometimes turn into nightmare, if you ever felt helpless but surrounded by many people, please help Nastasia!”
“As little as you can, it’s already a lot for her. All the friends and colleagues who know her we know that she would do it in the same circumstances. Nastasia is still the same sweet, nice, generous and noble woman that when she was 20 years old.”
Ruth Schuler, former fellow model, said: “It has left me in shock. Nobody expected this. We were at princess level, but she, she was at goddess level.”
“I remember her as an introverted person, very beautiful and very generous with others. We are gathering more people. The first thing is to talk to her, know how she is and what she needs.”
Hernando Herrera, another former model, said: “She has lot of things to give to the fashion world.”
“She could do a lot of things, not only model, but also conferences, fashion speeches and other activities. I am ready to teach her and talk with photographers and agencies so that she can work again.”
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