VAN DER BECK, NICOLE I.

[Deleted]

IT'S THREE AM, I'M CALLING IN
TO TELL YOU THAT WITHOUT YOU HERE
I'M LOSING SLEEP, I'M LOSING SLEEP
NERVOUS, I'M AROUND THESE LONELY EYES,
THAT'S LEAVING ME FILLED WITH FEAR,
I'M LOSING SLEEP, I'M LOSING SLEEP
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FULL NAME: Nicole Isabel Van der Beck
NICKNAMES: Nic
AGE: 26
BIRTHDAY: 03-03-1987
CURRENT CITY: Paris, France
HOMETOWN: Stockholm, Sweden and Florence, Italy
EDUCATION: Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
OCCUPATION: Art Dealer

FACEBOOK NAME: Nicole Van der Beck
TWITTER HANDLE: NicoleVDB
INSTAGRAM: NicoleVDB
TUMBLR URL: n/a

HEIGHT: 5'9"
WEIGHT: 130 lbs
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Blue

FATHER: Claudio Van der Beck, painter/art forger
MOTHER: Hélène de Wavrin, heiress/women’s lifestyle columnist
SIBLINGS: n/a
EXTENDED: de Wavrin family
PETS: Watson, a French Bulldog

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Books: The Art of War, Veronika Decides to Die, The Great Gatsby, Iliad, The Murder Code, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Murder On the Orient Express, The Goldfinch

Movies: Smashed, Troy, Priceless, Bachelorette,The Surrogate, Teddy Bear, Amelie, Step Brothers, Chocolat, 300, American Hustle, Thor, Goodfellas, Inglorious Bastards, Pulp Fiction

TV: Boardwalk Empire, Mob Wives, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Sherlock, White Collar, Homeland, Bates Motel, Shameless

Ear Orgasms: Barracuda by Heart, Let Her Go by Passenger, Things We Lost in The Fire by Bastille, Counting Stars by OneRepublic, Beam Me Up by Cazzette, Chocolate by The 1975, There And Back by Wolfgang Gartner, No Scrubs by TLC, Serpent Of Old by Seven Lions, Pain by Tupac, Mirror by Lil Wayne, Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli, La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf

Food: Roquefort, anchovy pizza, chili, cookie dough, Coq a vin, Captain Crunch, mac & cheese, macaroons, pudding pops, sushi, kale, venison, cheetos

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“I don’t believe in doing anything by halves. If you’re going to create something, do it properly. If you’re going to love, love completely. If you’re going to fight for something you want, fight wholly and fearlessly.” - Nicole Van der Beck, The New York Times, 2012

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10 December 2013
by Sarah Mower

Always beautiful and chic, Nicole Van der Beck sits on a plush couch, completely demure, and even in a simple cashmere buttoned turtle neck and a pair of dark washed jeans, she looks like the epitome of elegance. Striking blue eyes and a little turn up of a smirk on her full pink lips, and she’s got our full attention. The daughter of Dutch-Italian painter Claudio Van der Beck and Hélène de Wavrin, a descendent of the Burgundian Huguenot de Wavrin family in Paris, France, whose fortune was founded on explosives and textiles during the 19th century, Nicole has quite a rich history. And she sits before me today, in a rare personal interview with British Vogue, ready to answer some of our most burning questions.



I’m sure you get this question a lot, but how do people normally react when they realize you are the daughter of Hélène de Wavrin? 

Surprise, mostly. Then they wonder how they should treat me, as if i’m a different person because of it. Basically, because I have no desire to take my mother’s famed surname, and I also don’t talk of my lineage much unless my relatives are involved, people are a bit thrown off. And I take that as them already having assumptions of how that side of my family works, as well as their nauseating similar personalities, which I have very little desire to inherit. 


Sounds like there is a bit of hostility there. Care to elaborate?

I think i’m being quite nice, honestly. But even if there is, i’m sorry to say that you’d never be privy to knowing.


Oh, going to leave us dreadfully curious. But fair enough! Now, let’s get on to the real meat of the questions. At only twenty-six, you have made quite a name for yourself all on your own. You are one very talented young woman, who seems to really know her stuff. Already internationally recognized as an art dealer who has a knack for finding little-known treasures and exciting works, as well as century favorites, you seem well on your way to becoming the next Larry Gagosian or Edith Halpert.

Well, first off, thank you for the sweet words. I really love that more people have taken an interest into the realm of art and appreciation these days. I feel like it’s not just a visual or aesthetic pleasure, but an internal one as well. My heart swells when i’m around great works, whether they are centuries old, or newer works of upcoming artists who spill their hearts and souls into their creations and just want to share it with the world. Art evolves, but true art is always something that comes from the soul. You can copy what you want, but an original idea will always be priceless and the most beautiful. And that’s what I search for.


How seriously do you take your profession?

I’d say very seriously. This is this a competitive career where you have to always be up on market trends, know your clientele and be clever and brazen enough to get through many doors sometimes people love keeping locked, especially for someone my age. I think like a lawyer in a sense, logically, when it comes to business, as I want to always be making the right decision for all parties. I can be a little bit of a workaholic, I mean, I even have a specifically designed at home office for just that. I hate working at my bed, because it distracts me, so an off room helps keep me focused. But at the same time, I’m aware of what can happen when you let your career take control of you. So I try and manage my time well, remain spontaneous and fun in my personal life, and know that there needs to be down time, or i’ll eventually be my own demise.


What are some of your career goals as of late?

I’m very goal orientated, to the point that my stubbornness can come out rather quickly if my plans aren’t exact. Just ask my team! The poor things, combined they are like the long suffering wife to an overwhelming neurotic and difficult husband in a 50’s marriage! Honestly, i’m aware that predicting the future is highly illogical. Things can shift, people and situations in life can change, but I know myself well enough to know that my dreams are never going to be deterred by anyone. I want my empire before i’m thirty, and i’m going to keep at it until I reach it. 


Besides being inspired to pursue art by your father, who was a painter, you got your start at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, in Germany. A few of your professors there have only great things to say about you. They are quite proud to say that you were a star pupil in the years you were there. Was it a great experience for you?

You have been doing your homework. But, do they? I figured they’d have something to complain about. Like the fact that I almost always chain-smoked my Golden Virginia's and tried to cover it with Chloé, before entering Professor Aegerter's class, simply because I knew he couldn’t stand the mixed smell. He’d walk around with his nose in a scrunch, completely disgusted and distracted. Or i’d speak a few different languages sarcastically, just to fluster Professor Lefebvre, whenever she asked me questions. I guess in a way I was one of those intolerable students to a point, but a welcome to the general student population because despite my high marks, I was never fond of following strict rules. I liked to play by my own rules if I could in school. So I guess in a sense, I was a class clown? But I’m glad they could overcome that and appreciate my hard work in the end. The school is renowned for a reason, and I really did love my time there. I learned a great deal that I use everyday in my work, and in my own personal artwork.


You live such a busy and jet setting life, so how is it that you unwind after a long voyage or busy day?

I drink! I mean, many people aren’t aware that I collect wines. Growing up, I had a friend whose family owned a vineyard, and I got obsessed with the different tastes and types from different periods. So I started tasting, bidding and collecting, and doing that often relaxes me. I have an envious collection i’m told, like acquiring a 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Jeroboam, and i’d like to keep it that way. A night lounging on the couch in barely anything, eating macaroons with a glass of wine or whiskey in the other hand, and watching Netflix is a great stress reliever too. If I want to be active, i’ll probably go out, a nice dinner or spending time at the pub is perfect. Or if i’m feeling creative, i’ll paint or dance. I’ve recently been taking salsa lessons, and it’s been fantastic. I love dance genres that can be both mysterious and sexy.

You have a background in dance, correct?

During my childhood, I traveled quite a lot. I made a lot of different countries and cities my home. My father would move us to wherever he found the best muse for his works, and whenever that dwindled, we’d be off once again. Besides painting, dance seemed like the perfect outlet for me when it got hectic. I experienced many cultures, so they influenced my dance a great deal. So I took as many classes as I could. I was always hungry to learn more. And not only does dance keep me healthy, it helps with the stamina and flexibility I need when it comes to other sexy closed door activities. If you catch my drift.


Well aren’t you cheeky! Love it. So, there’s a rumor swirling around that you are to become the new face of the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. I feel like it could describe you -- daring, bold, spirited, sensual and elegant. Is this true?

Me, take over after Keira? This is the first i’ve heard of it! And though i’d be honored, i’d highly doubt they would pick me of all people. Plus, Keira Knightley is far too perfect. They’d be idiots to lose her.


What about delving into the world of fashion? Many people, us included, are curious as to desires in this world. You are well connected, and photo shoots are not a strange thing for you as you said, and not to mention you almost always hit the best dressed lists.

To be honest here, i’ve never seen myself as being in front of the camera too much. Unless it was for personal candid photos. If I could, i’d love taking a chance behind the camera, for I find fashion to be another area of art and expression that I absolutely love. And photography can really help bring out a designer’s brilliant creations when you can’t see them in person. But I feel as though i’d be doing more of the behind the scenes business, helping create something that will showcase both photographer and designers works to the public. So, collaborating might be in the works in the near future, if that helps ease any curiosity.


Peter Lindbergh has said that working with you was a pleasure, even though you often tested, in a lack of a better word, his patience sometimes! Which he has said, no one has ever really had the guts to do before.

Ohhh, Peter. I honestly wasn’t trying to be rude, or step on anyones toes. Clearly photography is not my profession, and i’m often astounded by the amount of talent and creativity that he has. He’s renowned for god sake, and his works are beautiful. And that goes for many photographers i’ve ever worked with. Or even the ones I represent. But I guess when you put two very artistic people in one room, creative differences can happen sometimes. But more than half the time I was merely joking, or we were, about how stubborn and intimidating we could both be. But I trust him, and he knows this, for I have worked with him in the past. So I really just take that quote as him getting me back for calling his infamous Sauerbraten we had on our last night shooting together, a disaster in my mouth!


On a completely different note, I have to say, when the news broke that you and Graham Barrington IV split in August, it broke our hearts. How are you holding up? Or are you enjoying the single life?

It’s the beginning of December, how is anyone still on this? I’m a very private person when it comes to romance. I’m not going to flaunt my boyfriend or fiancé to get attention, because that’s unneeded and not wanted at all. In my opinion, normalcy should be key to a relationship. In the sense that our growth or even our problems should be our own, not the worlds. I think when celebrities flaunt, it’s such a turn off. And it’s also why I feel zero sympathy for them when they come crying for privacy later on. You made your bed, so lie in it.

But back to your question, i’m honestly as fine as any girl could be. When it happened, I cried, I stuffed my face, I broke things, I took up kickboxing, I asked myself why I was so blind to certain aspects, but after a while that just gets tedious and annoying, so I made it a goal to find a good place again. And now i’m here, enjoying everything life has to give. Heartbreak happens, it’s apart of life. But i’d never let a relationship define or ruin me. So, I moved on. I have this hope that I can have the love I always wanted someday, but i’m twenty-six years old. I’ve still got time to find it, so i’m really not worried. The pressure to have a perfect life at my age has never once been an ailment to me.


We can only hope that you find that happiness one day too. Is it too soon to ask if you possibly have any prospectives so far?

A girl shouldn't kiss and tell.

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ALIAS: Liza
AGE: 23
PLAY-BY: Candice B
MEMBER GROUP: Paris
INSPIRATION: Passenger