Marianne Faithfull came to my 11th birthday party. I was like: “Who’s that woman?” My mum [fashion designer Pearl Lowe] said I’d understand one day.
The maternal side of my family has always been creative. My great-grandmother was in one of the first girl bands, in the 1920s. Their outfits were mental: velvet bloomers with big ribbons and headpieces. They were brilliant.
I thought very hard before leaving school. I was good at it – I loved science and wanted to be an archaeologist, but I started to earn money from modelling and it hasn’t stopped. I know there’s only a certain amount of time I can model for.
I was so happy the day I found out Gavin [Rossdale] was my dad. I’d always looked up to him. But it was still a shitshow trying to get over it. There’s no handbook. As a 15-year-old you have to pull yourself together anyway.
My mum brought Liv Tyler round before Armaggeddon came out. I was blown away by how beautiful she was and how softly she spoke. She was supportive over the Gavin thing; she’d had the same issue with her father [Steven Tyler].
My grandmother told me I’m never allowed to say who I voted for. I keep an eye on politics, although I wouldn’t say I’m political. I believe in looking after everyone for the greater good, and I went on a climate change march.
I do 20 minutes of transcendental meditation every morning, and I try to do it in the afternoon, too. It is supposed to be the equivalent of three hours’ sleep. It settles me, gives my brain a bit of space from itself. I have definitely suffered from depression – it comes in waves – and I think it’s incredible if you don’t.
Money is a way of being able to facilitate having a good time. I love travelling and I love nice clothes. But I’m also terrible at holding on to money, because I always buy flights, dinners and things for my friends – so aside from my house and a nice wardrobe, I don’t have much to show for it.
I was a precocious child. Everyone called me sassy. Mum said I was the brainy one, so I should focus on my schoolwork. I was going to be a lawyer.
When I was 19 I decided never to read anything about myself. I know it comes with the territory, but I’d rather be known for the things I actually do rather than walking my dog.
I’m a very sensual being, and very tactile, but I have been single for a long time so I’m not as sexual as I’d like to be.
I have done naked shoots, which means everyone thinks I’m a deviant, but I think the female form is something to be celebrated. The male form, too, but I don’t have one of those. I have to become a character to have the confidence to take my clothes off. If I was Daisy, I’d be an awkward nightmare.
I get labelled as curvy but I’m sure women who are size 14 or 16 find that infuriating. I’m only curvy compared to normal model size; I’m not teeny-weeny. Women are our own worst enemies when it comes to how we look.
Daisy Lowe stars in Pressure, in cinemas from 21 August
