Olivia Arben has been modelling since she was just 15-years-old and has worked with the biggest names in the industry, including Boohoo, L’Oreal and Wolf & Badger. After losing her father to heart failure at 16, Olivia has become a dedicated British Heart Foundation Ambassador. She works closely with the foundation to help raise awareness about high cholesterol, sharing her own experiences with familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder that means their cholesterol levels are higher than normal from birth. Now, at 22-years-old, Olivia splits her time between London and Dubai. Here, she reveals what she has learnt.
Love
I love love! In all forms, from the love, I have for my family to the love I have for my longterm boyfriend, the love for friends and the love for animals! I am a hopeless romantic and I wish love on absolutely everyone! I fall in love with people’s personalities particularly passionate people. Then I just want to spend all of my time with them.
Money
I am lucky that modelling is more than just a job to me it’s an absolute passion, I don’t do it for the money at all, I do it for all of the experiences I have had, the like-minded friends I have made and the lifestyle and flexibility that comes with it. Making money is just a bonus! I genuinely believe happiness comes more from shared experiences than just money in the bank (although having some in there is definitely useful!).
Trust
People who don’t like animals are not to be trusted. Straight up!
Success
Is defined differently for everyone, but for me, career-wise, it was and still is meeting certain goals I have set myself within the modelling industry. I have been lucky to achieve a degree of success so far but because I am so passionate and a bit of a perfectionist, I would often punish myself mentally over having not achieved certain goals within a certain time frame. I have learnt not to be so hard on myself recently.
Fear
I have a crippling fear of being in a lift by myself ever since I was about four to five-years-old. For castings and jobs, I have to go in different lifts all the time by myself and have found ways of coping with it, until about two months ago. I got stuck in a lift on the way to see my Grandpa. I thought it might’ve cured me as I got out okay, but it’s actually made it worse!
Friends
Most of my really close friends are male and I love them all dearly! These friendships for me, are entirely supportive and I find them to have a very different dynamic to my female friendships. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found it difficult to grow with my female friends from my childhood, but I’m grateful to meet and connect with other models in a similar situation to me. I actually love making new friends and exploring new relationships with them, so if you’re a girl and you fancy making a new friend, hit me up!
Sex
They say the best things in life are free…I think an orgasm is one of the greatest gifts you can give!
Myself
I would like to think I am still constantly learning and growing every day. I have learnt to be patient and to put less pressure on myself while enjoying what I have achieved, and what I am already lucky to have in my life. I have also learnt to never take ‘no’ for an answer when it’s something I really want which is pretty helpful in the modelling industry!
Society
Society in recent years has become more accepting of all individuals in different capacities. Those who have constantly stood up for what is right have brought about this gradual change, most recently the ‘#MeToo’ Movement. I feel Society is progressing in a positive way as long as we continue to stand up and fight for the individual.
Loyalty
I feel I am very loyal. I have no time for people that don’t have the same quality or respect for others.
Freedom
To me freedom is having a genuine sense of self, to have a complete understanding of who you are as a person and to accept and love yourself completely. Some people spend their entire lives trying to discover who they really are and to accept self-love, I consider myself very lucky that my mum taught me this very early on, to know my strengths and limitations and desires and to accept them fully, therefore no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I feel free mentally.
Photography by Luc Coiffait
Follow Olivia on Instagram: @oliviaarben
