Miranda Kerr reflects on defining beauty in her life – from her business to her four boys – 20 years since her first Victoria’s Secret show.

Next month marks 20 years since your debut on the Victoria’s Secret runway. What did it feel like, as a 23-year-old Australian from Gunnedah, to be on that stage in Los Angeles?

I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I was feeling super excited and really grateful to be there. I definitely had butterflies in my stomach. But I did have a lot of fun with the Victoria’s Secret shows. I remember feeling quite playful, enjoying the moment. [Australian fashion photographer] Russell James was there, and he’s actually shot this cover story [for Stellar]. He was shooting backstage, and being a fellow Aussie, we just really clicked with our little Aussie banter that we had.

That first show, I opened the pink section with the megaphone, and I had on a green outfit. I remember walking out and saying to myself, “Just enjoy the music. Have fun with it.” Everyone in the crowd was very interactive, which was very different to me than a lot of other fashion shows that I’d been in. Normally you just kind of walk and look straight ahead, but this was very playful. It was being that cheeky girl that I naturally was. What made it even more surreal was that when I was 15, I went on a student exchange program to Virginia, and that was when I actually encountered my first Victoria’s Secret shop. Never would I ever have imagined that a few years later, I’d be walking the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, let alone eventually becoming an Angel.

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You are the only Australian who has been a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Could you have ever foreseen what lay ahead in your life and career two decades on?

Victoria’s Secret gave me a voice. I was able to talk about things I was passionate about. And it was ironically that same year, 2006, when I decided to create my own skincare line, Kora Organics. I’d been very passionate about health and wellness from such a young age because of my mother’s history. [In 2001, Therese Kerr was found to have cancerous tumours on her spleen.] It was a wonderful opportunity for me to share some of those wellness tips that I felt were useful to me and my family with the rest of the world.

At the same time, I was really working hard on creating Kora Organics and investing that money that I had saved from my modelling days because my mother always said, “Make sure that you save everything, and then one day you’ll be able to invest it in something you’re really passionate about. [Kerr would go on to launch Kora Organics in 2009.]

I never expected my career to last as long as it has. I always saw modelling as a short-lived job. I really embraced every opportunity. I got to travel, experience some of the most incredible places and cultures in the world. But at the same time, it was a lot of hard work. I was working six days a week in two different countries a week. I missed out on a lot of friends’ special occasions like weddings and special birthdays, things like that, because of contractual commitments. The only break that I would take – when I was really working in my prime – was 10 days over Christmas. So I was making hay while the sun was shining, let’s put it that way.

The annual Victoria’s Secret show is set to take place in LA this weekend. The brand has undergone many changes in the years since you first made your debut. What were your observations about the culture at the time?Were the women pitted against one another more than they might be today?

I remember meeting them and just being blown away by their beauty, like, “Wow, what am I doing here?” I became best friends with Lily Aldridge. I learnt a lot from watching Gisele [Bündchen], how she moved in front of the camera and created these incredible shapes. Just watching the way that each of [the models] had their own way of expressing themselves was really quite interesting and something I definitely learnt from. Now I feel like Victoria’s Secret is much more expansive and inclusive – they have influencers, athletes and a wider range of beautiful women working for them.

You have often spoken about Kora Organics as your baby girl [Kerr has three sons – Hart, 8; Myles, 7, and Pierre, 2 – with husband and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, and a son, Flynn, 15, with ex-husband and actor Orlando Bloom]. As a female founder, what are your thoughts and reflections on backing yourself?

Back then, clean beauty wasn’t even a thing. For me, it was something I knew was necessary because of what I had learnt through my mum’s sickness. Our skin is the largest organ, and what you put on your skin sinks in. I wanted our brand to be certified organic from day one. Our ingredients are filtered through and touch upon crystals to energise the vibration of the products. And then we also have the positive words on the back of the products to uplift the user and their experience. I’ve really tried to think of the whole 360 approach to this business, because that’s the way I approach my life.

What does your day-to-day life look like at Kora, and how does it fit into the bigger picture?

Right now, I want to focus on our products, reinvest money into giving them the love and attention they deserve, and not dilute the brand by just adding another product. So I said, “Let’s pause.” This is the only time I’ve done that in the whole time I’ve had the company. I’ve not paused product development, because I love creating new products. It’s one of my favourite things. So I said to my team, “Let’s focus on all the products we have, and giving them enough attention.” That’s my main focus right now.

And then, obviously, there’s a lot to manage when you have your own company. I’m still the 95 per cent owner, and I still haven’t taken a cent out, because this is my baby. It’s my passion. I want to continue to grow and evolve the brand; I think it really deserves a place – not every product – in almost everyone’s home. I wanted to make it affordable, so it’s not too out of touch. All of the ingredients are certified organic, and that means I have to jump through so many hoops. But people deserve so much better than they’re used to. They deserve to give themselves products that can help them and their skin in a way that’s not detrimental to their health.

Your eldest son Flynn is 15. How are you finding life with a teenager?

It’s incredible because they’re wanting to express their own autonomy, but they’re still learning so much. I want him to feel independent and strong within himself. But he’s still my baby, of course. I just want him to know that he’s unconditionally loved throughout that process of growing and hormones and heartbreak and homework and life. It’s tough being a teenager these days. I’m not sure I’d wanna go back and be [one].

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Teenagers and tech is a hot-button topic. How are you managing that, especially since your husband is the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc (parent company of Snapchat)?

When Flynn was about 13, he got a phone because he had to go back and forth between my house and [Bloom’s] house, and we wanted him to be able to communicate with us. I obviously had restrictions, so you can do the parental controls on the phones – the time limits and things like that. We were super intentional about what apps he uses. He’s going to be 16 in January, and we just had a conversation over the break about how I could give him a little more flexibility with the strong parental controls and the time limits I have on his screen time. I said to him, “Listen, I obviously want the best for you, and I want the best for your brain, and the goal is for you to have a healthy relationship with technology. At the same time, I want you to be able to communicate with your friends.” I think we just have to make sure that our kids have the tools to understand and navigate the world they’re growing up in.

Technology is part of that world. It’s about age-appropriate access, education, open communication. It’s a big conversation.

You appeared on US star Kristin Cavallari’s podcast in August and made quite the stir when the conversation turned to your diet and you revealed that you don’t eat eggs, but do eat meats including venison and bison. Those comments went viral – were you anticipating that?

No. Here’s the thing: this was taken a little bit out of context, as headlines are often. I was saying this is what I do for me because I’ve had my blood taken and I’ve had issues for – oh my goodness – since Hart was a little boy. I had proctitis. It’s an inflammatory bowel thing, so I have to be really specific about what I eat.

Certain things inflame me. That doesn’t mean it inflames everyone. For instance, my kids eat eggs. Wow, that’s amazing, right?

Hold the front page.

My kids are not eating bison, but I am because that’s what is working for me. That’s why I’ve placed such a huge emphasis on my health. Because when I’m feeling my best, I give my best as a mother, I give my best to my work, I give my best as a friend. This is not to say that it’s for everyone, and I wasn’t saying that. I was just being very honest about what I eat for breakfast, and it just went … woo! And I was like, “Wow, this is hilarious. There’s another headline coming. That’s funny.” I thought it was kind of comical. I have been in the industry for so long that I wasn’t surprised by it. I was just fascinated that people were so interested in it.

It used to be a common trope for models to say, “Oh, I eat burgers and fries and pizza” when discussing their diet, which only left other women thinking, “How come they can eat that and look like that?” So there’s a lot more transparency now and yet answering such questions honestly can clearly also get people talking. Would you still answer that question the same way if you had known so many headlines it would spark?

The most important thing is to be honest and truthful with what works for you, right? What works for me doesn’t necessarily work for everyone else. That was very important in the context of what was being said. She was like, “What do you eat for breakfast? Egg?” I’m like, “No, I actually don’t.” It would be so much easier if I could [say yes], let me tell you. Because I really did enjoy eggs. I miss eggs. So there you go.

I’ve spoken with you across several stages of your career, and I’d like to take you back to a conversation we had over a decade ago about how the loss of your first boyfriend, Christopher Middlebrook, who died in a car accident when you were just 15, changed the direction of your life. You told me: “I wanted to stay in Gunnedah, get married, have babies and now look at me. Wow, who would’ve known?” How do you reflect on that conversation today, 12 years on?

I wouldn’t have even thought that I would be here and I’m just so grateful for all of it. I’m grateful to have four healthy boys. Even in the midst of all the madness that comes with that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel blessed to have an incredible partner with Evan. We have the same values and we share the love of family and how important family is. I feel grateful that I found him because at the time, I never knew that that would happen.

Chris passing so long ago taught me from a very young age that life is precious and can change in an instant. I’ve carried that throughout my whole life, and it probably explains why I value the little things so much, like being with the people that I love, telling them how much I love them, not taking that time for granted, really enjoying each of the little moments that my boys are going through. Flynn is named Flynn Christopher after Chris. I feel like [Chris] is definitely one of Flynn’s angels protecting him. I’m very close with Chris’ parents. They’re like family to me.

You and Evan will mark your 10th wedding anniversary next year. Have you made any plans yet?

We’re talking about having some kind of celebration because it is quite a big milestone to be together for 10 years. And I must say, I still get butterflies in my stomach when I think about him. I get grateful and teary thinking about … I’m getting teary now. Thinking about how we still have that deep love and respect for each other, and that fondness, 10 years after being married. Next year will be 13 years together.

Nobody’s perfect. Of course we annoy each other. Of course we get on each other’s nerves. We just talk about it. One of the main ingredients for us really working so well is that we both want to evolve, and grow every day into a better person than what we were yesterday.

To learn more about Kora Organics, visit www.koraorganics.com

Listen to Miranda Kerr on a new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, out now wherever you get your podcasts. See the cover story in print in a new issue of Stellar out via the Sunday papers.

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