The multi-talented Rie Rasmussen on appearance-versus-reality, competition and success, and finally finding true happiness
ART DIRECTOR ELLA MCNANEY PHOTOGRAPHER RIE RASMUSSEN HAIR STYLIST KEN PAVES MAKE-UP ARTIST JEANNIA ROBINETTE FASHION STYLIST CHARLENE ROXBOROUGH HAIR STYLIST ASSISTANT BETHANY REYES PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS NORIO CHALICO, CATHERINE FORSYTH MODEL AVA MCAVOY
INTERVIEW CHRISTIAN CHENSVOLD
Talk about a vacation to remember: Danish native Rie Rasmussen was 15 years old and on holiday in New York when she was discovered on the street. Yep, that actually happens. And it sent her on an adventure that would draw out all her skills. She’s worked as an actress in Brian DePalma’s Femme Fatale, been the face of Gucci under Tom Ford, and worked as a film director, photographer and artist. But her greatest accomplishment was learning what true success really means.
VM: How did all of your talents develop?
RR: It was over a fair amount of time, with one art form and interest leading to another. I went with the flow of opportunities I got, and liked pushing limits. My mother is a painter and mathematician, so I grew up painting since I was very young. Then by accident I was discovered on Fifth Avenue while on holiday, then went out into the world at 15 and didn’t stop traveling. I was exposed to so many people and art forms that eventually I got the chance to try all of them.
VM: How did your parents feel about this? They must have been protective and concerned?
RR: This was 1993, before cell phones. They talk to your parents, say they’re going to take care of you, and your parents believe them. But reality was very different, living in a crazy artists’ loft in the Meatpacking District, when it really was about meatpacking. But it gave me a tremendous amount of experiences and failures to learn from and gain wisdom.
VM: What wisdom have you picked up since then?
RR: It’s very basic, but in elementary Buddhism, for instance, you cannot control anything. The quest to control others or the universe is a waste of time. If you just let things happen and be, they’ll unfold as they should. But probably the biggest lesson is that you are in life where you’re supposed to be, reaping the harvest of the sowing you’ve done. So to be frustrated with your situation is to not understand your own actions, and ultimately you can only control your reaction to things. So if you’re angry in a situation that’s dangerous or badly managed by other people, what’s the anger going to do? You ask yourself, “Will it help if I worry or get angry?” No, so why let it affect your emotional state so you can’t deal with the situation you’ve been handed.
VM: What do you consider success to be?
RR: In life everything changes, including your definition of success. When I was young I wanted to be famous at everything and pursued it with ferocity. Then I turned thirty and realized that the relentless pursuit of things I thought were important had made me chronically ill. And so success for the next ten years became just trying to go through the day without severe pain and anguish. Now, having my first child and being almost forty, success is caring for my child with a love that is so endless it’s indescribable. So success is in the eye of the beholder, and it should change and evolve. There are still many things I want to achieve and many projects I’m working on, but my success is “Am I having good relationships with good people in my life? Am I living up to being a good human who’s giving back correctly? Is my child happy?” And had you asked me and I’d said that 12 years ago, I would have laughed. I look back and find myself ruthless and goal-oriented in a way I just can’t perceive being anymore.
VM: What was the stress like?
RR: The pressures and people in competitive industries like film and fashion, the demands they put on you can exasperate a person’s health and wellbeing to a point of breaking. It’s an eye-opening experience when you go from “success is being the best at everything” to “I just want to get out of bed in the morning.”
