PEOPLE · FASHION
Ana Nicolaie
A catwalk and editorial model who began her career on the runway and went on to represent her country at Miss Europe in Italy, placing first runner-up. The exposure pushed her past her own limits and opened the door to projects that defined the next decade of her career.
THE WORK
Fashion is my passion.
Most courageous thing you have done?
Working outside of my comfort zone. To work in foreign countries and compete with all the best models takes a lot of courage, and I have never regretted the decision.
Advice to your younger self?
Whatever decision I have made in the past has made me a better person than I am now.
ON CHARACTER
Discipline, patience, honesty, creativity, determination.
Your greatest strengths?
Discipline, patience, honesty, creativity, and determination. These have built my work ethic. I do not settle for deadlines. I would rather finish ahead of them.
Your weaknesses?
I do not call them weaknesses, but areas of opportunity. Over-focusing, anxious about getting things right in time. Public speaking. And being too brutally honest with friends. I am working on more tact and more diplomacy.
INSPIRATION
Always my mom. And my will.
Who inspires you?
Always my mom. And my will.
What motivates you the most?
I look up to my mom. I am what I am because of her, and because of the way she molded me to be independent and hard-working.
THE FUTURE
My own business, a loving husband, two kids.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Running my own business with a loving husband and two kids running around.
DAILY LIFE
Gym. Read. Meditate.
Three things you must do every day?
Go to the gym, read, and meditate.
Your hobbies?
Dancing. I used to do Salsa and Waltz. I also do yoga. Reading will not leave my system.
Three things in your purse?
Makeup, notebook, phone charger, and perfume. Can I say four?
ON BEAUTY
For the mind, the body, and the soul.
Your best beauty tip?
For the mind, read, discard, and organise. For the body, exercise, enough sleep, a healthy lifestyle. For the soul, meditation, a social media detox, and a walk every day.
FAVOURITES
Angelina, Anne with an E, and a song called La Alegria.
Favourite song?
La Alegria, by Corandcrank. One of many.
Favourite movie or series?
I am not into movies, but Anne with an E is my favourite series right now. It embodies the struggles of an orphan, and the storyline is amazing.
First celebrity crush?
Angelina Jolie. Her personality is amazing, aside from her killer looks. People sometimes tell me we look alike.
ON FASHION
I like everything about fashion.
Fashion trends you do not understand?
I like everything about fashion. As the saying goes, fashion is my passion.
FOR BOUJEEZ
A working model with a clear head, and a runway career that earned its place.
What makes Ana Nicolaie interesting to Boujeez is the discipline. The Miss Europe runner-up moment is the headline, but the rest is the work. A model who treats reading and meditation as daily rituals, who names her own weaknesses without softening them, and who keeps her mother at the centre of how she became who she is. The Gulf modelling scene is full of imported faces. The ones worth following are the ones who arrived with a position, and stayed with one.