Patricia Velásquez

Creativity goes beyond film, photographs, and canvas. It also spurs charitable or philanthropy as well as activism. Patricia Velasquez is an award-winning model and actress who has made history. Also, she is a staunch and generous philanthropist. Author, activist, author and a loving mom. She is a strong believer in intuition , and a pioneer in her own direction. "I view my career like the length of a staircase," she said. "I have been through every step. It was incredible to do this, because there has been perseverance. I laid my head down, moving one step at a pace, and didn't stop." The metaphor closely resembles the moment of formation. The author was born in Venezuela but raised in France and Mexico and then moved to Venezuela after a couple of years. In South America her parents worked in education. They relocated their family into an apartment block without water and no elevators. Patricia frequently carried buckets of water up fifteen flights of stairs in order to get water. She tried to help her family as much as possible, despite studying engineering and intensive dance training. The commitment she made to her family, which was the key to her rise to the top in the fashion industry, led to her sought-after to model in Milan. She recalls saying, "When they asked me whether I wanted to travel to Italy I replied, 'If you can send thirty bucks per month back home to Venezuela the cost will be worth it, since that will cover the whole building's water bills'." Patricia's success was a major turning point in fashion, in that she gained attention for South America for first time. After being "the first Karl Lagerfeld model ever photographed" and then going on to appear in editorial spreads and advertisements for the front of Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. Her appearances on Oprah's Supermodel of the World contest as well as Ford Models’ "Supermodel of the World” contest resonated across the globe. In addition, she graced the covers of Vogue, Bazaar, Marie Claire and many more.