A self-described “rebel,” Bianca Balti grew up in Italy and had no interest in modeling. She was scouted while working as a promo girl for an Italian shampoo company and let destiny take its course. Her career began at the age of 20, which is a bit older than when most models start off, but from there she set her sights on the American dream and moved to the U.S. to work as a model. Suffice it to say, it worked out for her. Balti has been the face of Dolce & Gabbana for over 10 years as well as one of the faces of L’Oréal Paris and has graced a long list of international covers, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, GQ and Marie Claire. She has also worked with fashion houses like Roberto Cavalli, Donna Karan, Christian Dior, Valentino, Missoni, Cesare Paciotti and Thierry Mugler. But it wasn’t until just recently, at the age of 32, that the beauty was featured in Sports Illustrated and voted Rookie of the Year, which just goes to show that you can live out your dream at any point in life, a belief she says she passes down to her two young daughters. To find out more about this seasoned model, we asked her our quickfire questions.
- My morning routine consists of… waking up with the sunrise. I immediately walk to the coffee machine and while I wait for the coffee to be ready, I do a mouth oil pulling with coconut oil. Then drink my coffee in peace before my little baby wakes up and I start to run around like crazy to get her ready for school.
- My go-to beauty products are… L’Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil and the Extraordinary Facial Oil.
- I’m dying to splurge on… my wedding; it’s going to be such a great memory not only for me and my husband, but for both our family and friends and especially for our girls.
- The biggest challenge with motherhood has been… coordinating work and time to spend with my daughters. I manage, but it’s very hard to be a working mother.
- The career moment I still can’t get over… is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. It’s also so fresh that I’m still so excited about it!
- My fitness routine consists of… working out as much as I can! At the moment I have a Pilates ball and TRX in my backyard, so I try and train while my baby plays around me.
- When I can’t motivate myself to work out… I still try to eat healthy and go to sleep early so that I take care of my metabolism.
- If you looked in my fridge you’d find… milk, yogurt, coconut water, carrots, avocados, bananas, broccoli and maybe some chicken breast. I try to keep the minimum necessary in my fridge as I hate to throw away food.
- I think my relationship with Dolce & Gabbana has lasted so long because… they are amazing! They are like a family and really care for the people who work for them. And I always try to give them the best of myself.
- One thing people don’t know about modeling… is that it’s hard work. It takes a lot of time planning before a job and everything gets confirmed last minute, so you always have your life on standby.
- My favorite beauty trick… is to look effortless, so I always try to enhance myself versus changing myself.
- A tip for looking good in a picture… is to smile with your eyes. Think about something that makes you happy!
- When it comes to dealing with insecurities… I always try to do my best so that I make peace with imperfections by knowing I’ve done everything in my power.
- If my days had one extra hour… I’d use it to work out.
- The best places I’ve ever traveled… Taormina in Sicily and Capri.
- My most memorable runway experience… was the first one for D&G. I was so nervous I’d fall, but I was the only one wearing flats!
- The key to maintaining a healthy complexion… is having a healthy style of life. I don’t party (which doesn’t mean I don’t have fun), I eat healthy, I don’t drink alcohol and try to sleep a lot.
- If I wasn’t modeling… I’d still be a mom for sure.
- The best piece of advice I ever got was… that there’s a limit to the things I can control and for everything else I’ve got to keep faith that God is going to take care of me.
- My biggest pet peeve… is rudeness. I can’t stand rude people. If everybody would be kind, we would have a perfect world.
- One thing I wish people knew about me… is that I’m down-to-earth. I’m not defined by my job at all.
