Do you think I’m sexy?
Katie Price
KATIE PRICE IS A PARADOX.
One minute she is slightly perplexed as she struggles to define sexy. ‘When I was younger, I used to think less was better. You know: little skirts, legs out, boobs out. That’s all part of growing up. Now… I don’t know about this sexiness thing. You’d think I’d know, because I’ve made a career out of it.’ Minutes later, she pouts, ‘I’m just pure sexiness, darling. I don’t want to feel sexy, I know I’m sexy – and that’s the difference.’
While the concept of sexy is open to
interpretation, many would describe Katie’s version as a brash, cartoonish, surgery-inflated, controversial incarnation of it. It tends to breed anything from disdain to outrage. Her willingness to bare all – be it literally (she shot to fame as a glamour model, is known for her teeny outfits and has posed for Playboy) or literarily (her sixth no-holds-barred autobiography is out this month) – is well documented. Her sex-symbol status with the lads’ mag alumni is unsurprising. Her flesh-and-soul disrobing, however, has also won her a legion of female fans, who applaud her as ‘empowering’ – an unorthodox feminist role model if ever there was one. All of which has made her very rich. The diamonds on her fingers, her huge collection of luxury designer handbags and shoes – ‘Yves Saint Laurent, Charlotte Olympia, Mulberry, Louboutin, Gucci…’ – and the number of horses she owns (eight) are testament to this.
On the shoot, it is her voice – big, sharp, distinctive – not her stature or famous boobs (both smaller in real life) – that catches your attention. Price is in a grey tracksuit, with hair scraped up in a bun and wearing next to no make-up. ‘I think I look best au naturel. Men I’ve been with find that sexy. People think because I’ve had my boobs done that I’ll be glamorous all the time; you know, made up, in heels… but I’m the opposite. I’m a tomboy. People don’t understand why I don’t get them out [any more] and flaunt them.’ So why then did she ‘get them out’ so much in the past? ‘I just
loved it,’ she says emphatically and roars with laughter. And yet, as she flicks through the rail of clothes the stylist has chosen for her – including body-con dresses by Hervé Léger – she says, ‘I want to be as covered up as possible.’ The blazer and lace body combo she finally chooses is relatively modest, but there isn’t much that can tone down her exaggerated cleavage when in lingerie. Not that she really wants to. ‘I’m an exhibitionist,’ she declares without batting a lash-extensioned eyelid. ‘I mean, for my calendar I’ll get them out again. If I was asked to do Playboy again, I would. If the right job came around. I would. I’m still the same person.’ She’s referring to her nom de guerre, Jordan. So she has no misgivings about her early brand of sexy? ‘I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. I don’t regret anything I’ve done. Well, apart from Eurovision…’