Brigite   Interview - Part 1

This former French housewife, turned model, thong swimwear fashion designer and aspiring actress, is now one of Europe's most recognizable faces

APRIL 2001  

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CAPPELLI: You have certainly been through a lot since we last met in Cannes.

BRIGITE: I certainly have. Had I known what winning this contest was going to do to me emotionally I might not have entered it. But, I am a very optimistic person, I'm sure things will turn out for the best.

CAPPELLI: This may be difficult and if you don't want to talk about it I'll fully understand, but why did your husband leave you while you were in Aruba?

"I don't think that the human body is anything to have to hide behind clothing.  Skin is just a covering, the wrapping that holds us together. I know perhaps that sounds like a cliché, but I firmly believe that we were not inherently born to wear clothing, we've just been conditioned to think that."

BRIGITE: No, I don't mind talking about it. Every time I recount the story it really seems to make it easier. I was doing a photo shoot on a remote beach. The photographer wanted me to run on the beach nude. I am not a shy person and saw nothing wrong with it. My husband came by and flew into a rage. He called me horrible names and said he had had enough. He left that day. I received divorce papers three weeks later. I think he was just really having trouble with my newly found fame.

CAPPELLI: I must say you're not shy, don't you feel self-conscious sometimes running around on the beach in a topless swimsuit or worse?

BRIGITE: Why do you say "or worse"? I assume by or worse that you mean nude. I don't think that the human body

is anything to have to hide with clothing.  Our skin is  just a covering, the wrapping that holds us together.  I think it is very odd that, here in the U.S., a fat man with breasts can be topless on the beach but if a woman wears a topless swimsuit, she can be arrested.  What sense does that make?

CAPPELLI: Do your pictures ever get  published in  any magazines?

BRIGITE: Oh, my yes.  There are 3 or 4 magazines that follow my progress and publish my pictures every month.  Many pictures are also on the Internet.  I kept the publishing rights to my photos thanks to my agent.  I get many requests for autographed pictures every month.  I guess some people must think I'll be famous someday. (Laughs).  I hope they're right.

CAPPELLI: I've had many people ask me your complete name.  All I've ever known is Brigite. 

BRIGITE: That's all there is.  I was born in Corsica and had a very mixed heritage.  None of my friends growing up could pronounce my last name.  So, when I got out of high school I decided to change it.  I knew I would get married someday and have to change it again.  So,  I just made it Brigite.  The judge in the little town where I grew up did it for me. He thought it was cute.  He also made a pass at me.

CAPPELLI: Maybe we'll talk about that later.  Let's get back to your business affairs.  I understand that in the contest, besides the around the world trip and your apartment for a year in Hollywood, you also received guaranteed screen tests and the photo shoots.  How are you able to pay for your other expenses?

"There is nothing sexy about large areas of  untanned skin. I have never understood taking the time and making the effort to lay in the sun to tan with half of your body covered up.!"

"None of my friends growing up could pronounce my last name...so I dropped it"

BRIGITE: Well, besides those things, I also won my own website www.brigite.com, which I understand cost the TV Network over 500,000 Francs to purchase.  This article will be published on my site as well as in your magazine  so those interested can follow my career.  On my site I also offer my own line of thong swimsuits, Brigitewear, autographed photos, and sometimes other things.  The swimwear is very popular and selling very well.  My agent wants to put some nude videos of me on my web site that you pay to see, but I'm not sure I want to do that. I am sure I will get some movie roles soon.

CAPPELLI: How is it you came to own a thong swimwear line?

BRIGITE: When I came to the States I was surprised at what women were wearing on the beach.  Why would you go to all of the trouble to go into the sun to get a tan just to end up with large white lines and marks on your back and rear end?  There is nothing sexy about large areas of untanned skin. My agent contracted with a company to produce a line of thong bikinis that I helped design.  I hadn't planned to make tops for them but was told they would never sell in the U.S. without.  I don't know if American women are shy or if it is the men keeping them submissive. Anyway, my  thong swimwear has been very popular, though I suppose more are still worn in backyards than on the beaches.

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