Noble de naissance et de cœur, la globe-trotter la plus glamour de la planète défend les causes auxquelles elle tient. Confidences

“J'ai besoin de sentir la terre”. La terre a, elle aussi, besoin de ces femmes qui la sentent et qui l'ont élue comme domicile. Tasha de Vasconcelos fait partie de ces gens qui ont plus d'une carte d'identité. Dans ses veines et ses gènes, coulent toutes les histoires du Portugal et de son aristocratie, de l'Angleterre et de sa distinction. Mais son enfance se passe ailleurs, dans l'Afrique noire de vies et d'enfants pauvres. C'est au Canada et aux États-Unis que Tasha parfait ses études et à Monaco qu'elle vit, quand elle n'a pas à sillonner le globe.

“Née en Afrique, je suis une fille du Mozambique”, cet état de la côte Est d'Afrique Australe, qui vit du coton, du thé, du gaz, du bois, de l'agriculture… de la bonne conscience de ce monde, et de l'air du temps souvent très dur avec le continent noir. L'Afrique qui a vu éclore la vie, assiste, impuissante, à son extinction. Misère, guerres, sécheresse, pauvreté et sida entrent en coalition pour tuer l'espoir. Tasha, qui a fait une carrière internationale de top model, allant de Chopard à Escada, de Elie Saab à Banana Republic, et de rôle en rôle au cinéma, sait qu'elle a aussi un autre rôle à jouer. Ce sera l'appel du pays. Elle retrouve son Mozambique natal où une phrase du Président l'accueille : “Notre fille est revenue”. Et c'est un retour aux souvenirs et à cette petite fille qui joue sur la plage, au bureau de papa. Un père qui n'est plus et qu'une immense tristesse remplace. Voyage également au quotidien de la réalité noire d'un pays où l'horreur côtoie le sourire, où la souffrance rythme la respiration de la société. “ What can I do ? ”, se demande Tasha, décidée à réagir. À agir. Et voilà que germe le projet d'un orphelinat pour lequel elle va batailler et mettre à contribution les grands et les moins grands de ce monde, de Villepin au plus anonyme de son interminable carnet d'adresses. La volonté d'aider les petits orphelins du sida ne la quitte plus. À Roland Garros, en suivant un match de tennis, ses pensées suivaient sa nouvelle obsession. Elle vit alors dans le ciel les quatre lettres du nom de sa future fondation. A comme Aids , M comme Mozambique , O comme Orphanage (orphelinat) et R comme Rescue (secours) : AMOR comme ce sentiment qui gît au fond de chacun et qui tend à nous lier les uns aux autres. Une fondation humanitaire qui s'occupera de l'avenir professionnel des enfants du sida.

Femmes, je vous aime !

Que ELLE Oriental l'ait choisie la touche. Tasha aime la féminité. “La femme, c'est la finesse. Et c'est la vie. C'est elle qui donne l'amour, qui porte l'enfant. C'est d'elle que vient la continuité”. Plus que belle, la femme se doit d'être intelligente, de faire fonctionner sa tête autant que son charme.

Son modèle à elle ? Elle en a plusieurs, “mais c'est le nom de la Reine Rania qui me vient en premier à l'esprit. J'aime cette femme : elle se bat pour les causes qui lui tiennent à cœur et fait bouger les choses”.

La femme orientale ? “La plus mystérieuse des femmes. Une féminité vivante, belle et forte. J'adore son regard profond, son voile”. Tasha, qui est elle-même un mélange d'Occident, d'Afrique et de Méditerranée, se sent très orientale et réceptive à ce jeu de cache-cache entre le corps et l'esprit.

Et le Liban ? “Je le découvre. J'ai eu la grande chance de le faire à travers la soirée du lancement du ELLE Oriental à Deir el-Qamar. Un pays de pierres, de cultures et de gens très généreux. Avec de la chaleur dans la voix, des montagnes et la mer… Je suis une fille de la mer.” Tasha aime beaucoup les tissus orientaux, la verrerie peinte à la main, et “beaucoup, très beaucoup”, la gastronomie libanaise, délicieuse et variée. Comme les Libanais, Tasha a connu la guerre, les départs et les séparations, “et ça fait de moi une personne qui comprend”.

Mes amies, les bêtes

Ses amours ? Elle en a plusieurs. Scarlett, sa chienne, compagne de toujours. Elle l'accompagne partout, munie de son passeport privé. Le cheval, une autre grande passion. “À cheval, je suis la plus heureuse des femmes ! À trois ans déjà, je galopais dans les savanes d'Afrique. C'est la grande évasion. Et quelque part, mon attachement à l'Orient vient du cheval arabe ! Sa beauté est synonyme de liberté. Dialoguer avec cet animal noble, le comprendre, quel plaisir !” Et puis, il y a l'amour de la nature, de la campagne et de tout ce qui est authentique. “Je n'ai jamais perdu mon authenticité. J'aime les gens. Je peux côtoyer la Reine d'Angleterre et la serveuse de la pizzeria du coin sans le moindre effort. J'évolue dans les milieux diplomatiques, artistiques, de la mode. Mon pays, c'est le monde. J'éprouve du plaisir à rencontrer les gens simples d'Afrique. Je me sens à l'aise à Monaco où souffle un mélange de générosité et de glamour international, et où les gens sont également simples et gentils. Mon père, un descendant de l'aristocratie portugaise, m'a léguée une grande qualité : la noblesse du cœur. Tous les titres du monde ne valent rien, si l'on n'a pas de cœur.”

Sa couleur, c'est le bleu. Le bleu du ciel ou de la mer. Le bleu de l'espoir, du changement et de l'avenir. Tout comme celui des Nations-Unies, quand elle devient ambassadrice de l'Unicef. Ou alors comme celui qui cache une douleur à peine visible, ce bleu à l'âme que Tasha peut avoir quand elle regarde l'Afrique qu'elle porte dans son cœur. Qu'elle porte sur elle-même comme une goutte de parfum d'une grande maison. Car Tasha a besoin de respirer l'Afrique. Continent aromatisé “où il y a tellement de choses à faire, à sentir”. Où Tasha sent qu'elle a les pieds bien sur terre.

By: Antoine Daher

Robe : Elie Saab
Bijoux : Chopard
Coiffure : Dessange
Maquillage : Chanel
Agence : Cynthia Sarkis Perros

Model-turned-actress Tasha de Vasconcelos is used to playing feisty characters, but here she happily indulges her more feminine side in curve-hugging chiffon and satin.

Dark and sultry, tall and willowy, Tasha de Vasconcelos, 27, has been blessed with both brains and beauty. Although one of a growing number of MTAs (model-turned-actress), her career already boasts a fine list of feisty female characters ('Each has had a lot to fight for,' she says), with each part seemingly echoing Tasha's own independent spirit and love of adventure.

Her cinematic debut in 1998, as Innes in Rich, Belles, etc (with Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée and Marisa Berenson), came about when a close friend, the film's director, Bunny Schpoliansky, asked, 'Can you do my film? I'll help you' -despite Tasha's total lack of acting experience. From there, she enrolled in acting classes in Paris and London - 'Life has a funny way of dropping things into one's lap. I always loved watching old movies like Love in the Afternoon and Casablanca, and suddenly acting seemed like the right road to travel down,' she muses.

Since then, roles in the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (alongside Alfred Molina) and as Paul Kaye's glamorous girlfriend in the BBC comedy series Perfect World have taken her a long way from her start as a young model in New York in the early 90s (Tasha has appeared on the covers of American Vogue, Tatler and Elle). She now divides her time between London and Monte Carlo (she once dated Prince Albert, heir to the Monaco throne). She also works with underprivileged children in countries such as Bolivia and Algeria, through UNICEF and other charities - 'I get so much from working with these children, it helps keep life in perspective,' she says. Born in Mozambique, to an English mother and Portuguese father, Tasha experienced first hand the terror of war when her family had to flee to Canada during the revolution.

Modelling has helped her to find her own sense of style which, she says, is "very classic -feminine but with a twist. Her style icons are Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy ('both were simple, feminine dressers'), and 'minimise rather than maximise' is her personal fashion mantra. 'I'll mix something high street with something designer or a bustier with men's trousers. And, I have to say, a girl can't go wrong with diamonds and pearls,' she laughs. She particularly loved the femininity of everything she modelled here for YOU: 'It really brought out the little girl in me. It was like another world, with all that prettiness and lace.

FIONA MCCARTHY

If actress Tasha de Vasconcelos was a boat she'd be this one: sleek, classy and with staying power. Much like the clothes she's wearing...

Lying on the deck of a 1929 teak America's Cup J-boat in the Med , up-and-coming actress Tasha de Vasconcelos is feeling right at home. "The boat is so beatiful - it really has that old-world glamour feel," she purrs -"old-world glamour" being shorthand for de Vasconcelos's personal style. Splitting her time between London and Monaco ( where she is rumoured to be dating Prince Albert), de Vasconcelos graced covers and catwalks as a model until a friend gave her a part in the French film Riches, Belles et Jolies a few years ago, and acting school and agents soon followed. Currently filming Dot the Eye, alongside Amores Perros star Gael Garcia Bernal, de Vasconcelosis steadily building up a CV that includes roles opposite Alfred Molina in Murder on the Orient Express and BBC comedy Perfect World. Still, she says , " I love fashion, I always will." In other words, though she's in the acting game for the long haul, she sees no reason not to look good while learning lines. It wasn't accidental she ended up on the chicest racing craft in existence. " If I was going to compare myself to a type of boat, then this would definitely be it."
Tasha's tips for long-haul style:

...ON LOOKING GOOD.
"I'd say that I am classic and feminine with a twist. I love safari chic. I think that comes from growing up in Africa. The sportmax blouse I wore on the shoot had that feel,"

...ON THE ESSENTIALS
"A safari jacket is something that I can't live without, I have the most fantastic, vintage YSL one that my stylist found. I also wear a lot of crisp white shirts (I have quite a few by Ralph Lauren) and a lot of black turtle-necks ( John Smedley and Dolce & Gabbana make really good ones)."

...ON INSPIRATION ICONS
"I've spent a lot of time in France and I think that I've been influenced by that. Audrey Hepburn had great style and Jackie Kennedy also has a lovely, classic look. She was inspirational, a simple, feminine dresser."

..ON CAPITAL CONSUMPTION
"London is fantastic for shopping. When I'm there, I head to Browns and Koh Samui, they're fun because they stock so many different designers. I also like APC, The Cross and Paul & Joe."

...ON SHOES
I love Gina shoes , although I don't like wearing a really high heel. Tod's make great flats and Emma Hope does lovely ballerina pumps. I have a fantastic pair of leopard-print ones that I wear all the time."

...ON DRESSING FOR SUCESS
"Minimise rather than maximise. Every woman has a best asset, be it your shoulders, legs, neck so work with it. Style is so personal. My tips are ... 1. Wear your clothes. Don't let them wear you. 2.Never follow trends - if you have style you won't need to. 3. Get a good tailor

...ON HIGH-STREET
"warehouse, Gap and M&S are all brilliant. I did a Marks & Spencer campign, and wanted to walk off with some of the clothes. Muji is good for basics, and Petit Bateau makes the best T-shirts in the world.

Top Class
It's Perfect World's Devastatingly Delicious Tasha De Vasconcelos- And You'll Only See Her in FHM

Traditionally, British sitcom actresses have not been the stuff of which fantasies are made. Whether you're talking about hatchet-faced Cassandra from Only Fools and Horses, leathery skinned Dorien in Birds of a Feather, or-and this was admittedly a low point-Olive from On the Buses, they have been anything but "easy on the eye".

Viewers of the recent BBC 2 comedy Perfect World, therefore, could be forgiven for their surprise upon first seeing Tasha de Vasconcelos, who played Lauren, the beautiful fiancee of Paul "Dennis Pennis" Kaye. Whether dressed in chic designer outfits or lacy black lingerie, she was evidently about as far from Nora Batty as it is possible for a human being to get.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, for someone untouched by the merest twig on the Ugly Tree, Tasha's first career was in modelling, where she earned enough loot to buy properties in Monaco and Chelsea, and to count celebs like Michael Schumacher and photographer Helmut Newton among her pals. Her path to the catwalk, mind you, was rather more colourful than the usual routine of pushy mums and beauty pageants- brought up in war-torn Mozambique and Zimbabwe, she was a tomboy who survived guerrilla attacks, armed revolutions and the odd brush with a deadly serpent before stumbling across fame and fortune.

Currently working on several hush-hush big screen projects, she is evidently very committed to her burgeoning career as a thesp. After studying the craft in London and Paris (where she also earned a degree in the mysterious-sounding "International Strategy"), she began with a role in the French arthouse flick Riches, Belles, Etc. Unlike other continental starlets, however, her work won't be restricted to the commercial doom that is "movies with subtitles". Indeed, despite being fluent in five languages-count'em: Portuguese, Italian, French, English and Spanish-she sounds, if anything. Vaguely Australian. And as that hasn't stopped Nicole Kidman, Russel Crowe or Mel Gibson making it huge in Hollywood, it would be a brave man who'd bet against her fulfilling her ambitions to star in "big period dramas or romantic comedies"…

Your name sounds quite posh. Are you a toff?
You could say that. My ancestors were Portuguese noblemen, but Conquistadores on the battlefield rather than people who flounced about the court. We rolled up our sleeves and did the fighting.

And are you handy in a scrap yourself?
Well, I grew up in Africa, so I was always quite sporty. I'd go riding, play tennis, and I was always trying to compete with the boys on my bike. I've still got little scars from grazing my knees so much when I fell off.

And did you ever come face-to-face with a ferocious animal?
I stepped on a snake once when I was playing in the backyard with my sister. I screamed immediately, because it felt soft and I knew it was a snake, not a fallen tree branch. Luckily it was a puff adder, which can be deadly, but it takes longer to strike than, say, a black mamba. I leapt backwards and kept away until the houseboys chased it off. But most of the time, actually, I was more frightened of the baboons. They used to come to our kitchen window to beg for food, and they'd gang up on our dogs.

What's it like being in a revolution?
I was really young, but I remember having to flee Mozambique at three o'clock in the morning. We rushed to the airport to catch the last plane out of the country. Bombs were going off. The guerrillas were roughing everyone up with machetes, and my father had to stay behind, because there was only room for the women and children.

You have a home in Monaco. Can you watch the Grand Prix for free from your balcony?
Sure but I'm not really a big Formula One fan. I'm not into all that fast Ferrari thing myself-I just drive a cute little Renault Twingo. And in London I love taking the bus and seeing all the sights. I'm a real tourist-the Tower of London, Big Ben, Beefeaters-I love them all!

Have you ever chanced your luck in the casino?
Once or twice, but I'm no professional. I remember playing blackjack once, and getting 21 after three cards. I was so happy, it was fantastic, but then the dealer got 21 as well, and he had to explain that I hadn't won after all. I was saying, "No, no, I've got 21, I win," and everyone laughed at me.

In Perfect World, you played a sexually-liberated minx. Are you like that in real life?
A sexually-liberated minx? Hmm, if you want to put it that way. I'd say I was very warm, passionate and southern. How's that?

As a former jet-setting model, have you ever had any hairy moments in the air?
A few, yes. Once, on a tiny plane in India, things got so scary that the stewardess started handing round these little packets of herbs to calm us down. I can't say it helped! And when I was flying from Paris to Nice, there was a terrible lightning storm, and we couldn't land because the plane in front of us had crashed onto the runway in flames. We got low on fuel and started diving, and I really thought I was going to die. But I said a prayer, and it obviously wasn't my time to go.

FHM

Tasha de Vasconcelos already models, acts and dates European royalty, and she is to perform at a gala performance at the Theatre Royal next week. But, says E Jane Dickson, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

If you were looking for a dinner guest to place between a bishop and an ambassador, you could do a lot worse than Tasha de Vasconcelos. model, actress and on-off squeeze of Prince Albert of Monaco, she has the reassuring air of someone who knows the correct way to eat a Ferrero Rocher. Well before pudding, his grace/excellency will undoubtedly compliment de Vasconcelos on her loveliness, and she will inform him with grave simplicity that it is what is inside a person that counts.’

Only the extravagantly lovely can get away with the ‘inner beauty’ shtick, and de Vasconcelos does it with such charm that you find yourself nodding at this great truth. ‘Beauty is a gift,’ she continues. ‘Anything beautiful is something to admire. Maybe all you can do is look at it. But there’s a pleasure in that.’

In the lobby of the Lanesborough Hotel, lap-tops whir unregarded as businessmen swivel to watch her graceful progress to a corner table. Impeccable in a knee-length camel coat and Jil Sander boots, de Vasconcelos looks like a cross between Jackie Kennedy and Liz Hurley’s classier younger cousin. When waiters rush to present her bottled water in an absurd silver container she accepts the tribute as if she never drinks out of anything else.

Best known in Britain for her role as Paul (Dennis Pennis) Kaye’s model girlfriend in the BBC2 marketing agency sitcom Perfect World, de Vasconcelos is keen to expand her acting portfolio. She recently starred in Largo Winch, a Bond-on-a budget romantic thriller which played well to European audiences and will, de Vasconcelos hopes, be released in Britain later this year. Last year she appeared opposite Alfred Molina in a made-for-America television adaptation of Agatha Christies Murder on the Orient Express. Her character, an aristocratic Russian jewel-thief who turns poor Poirot’s head, raised the hackles of Christie aficionados because she does not appear in the book. But her inclusion was worth it for the moment when de Vasconcelos glides through an Istanbul railway station in drop-dead couture to meet her lover. Even in outakes, it is easy to believe you are watching the birth of a screen icon. De Vasconcelos neither speaks nor emotes in the scene. Like Ursula Andress rising from the waves in Dr. No or Marilyn Monroe on her grating in Seven Year Itch, de Vasconcelos simply is.

For her part, de Vasconcelos is entranced with the magic of cinema. “It wasn’t really Istanbul,’she confides. “The railway scene was shot in Leeds. But that’s what it’s like in the business. Sometimes things look like something, but they’re really something else.’ Murder on the Orient Express fitted exactly with her idea of what a film should be: “I just love the glamour of old-style movies. As a child I watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s Roman Holiday, Doctor Zhivago. They were my yardstick, they were what made me dream.’

Glamour and magic were important in a childhood where reality was often brutal Tasha de Vasconcelos Mota e Cunha, to give her full name, was born in Mozambique in 1974 to a Portuguese father and English mother. The de Vasconcelos trace their ancestry to the conquistadors and family business in timber and railways provided every comfort of colonial life.

“The doors of our house in Beira opened right on to the sea and there were horses and animals and tennis parties. It was idyllic, but cuts into those memories are images of cruel violence. I was about nine years old when the Communists sent troops into Africa and I witnessed some horrible scenes. We had to leave Mozambique on a refugee flight and there were men with machetes at the airport. You grow up, and grow away,’ says de Vasconcelos, wrapping slender arms around her waist in classic straitjacket pose, ‘these things never leave you.’

The family started a new life in Canada, where Tasha endured the ugly-duckling adolescence which is de rigueur for models. ‘I was too tall, I had the wrong clothes and, when I spoke at all, which wasn’t often because I was tortured for my South African accent, I said the wrong things.”

For all her poise, de Vasconcelos can seem very young for her 27 years. Yet she has a degree in international relations, and, or to the point, has been around backstage at enough catwalk shows to see life in the raw. She was spotted, at the age of 19, by a New York talent scout while at university in British Columbia, and despite her family’s reluctance, embarked on a successful modeling career in Europe, appearing on the covers of Vogue, Tatler, and Elle and scooping lucrative cosmetics contracts. “I never really chatted much with the other models backstage,’ she says primly. ‘I was studying for my degree at the time; my friends in Paris were artists and writers and people who were doing all kind of interesting things. I love fashion. I very much admire the work the designers do and I’m flattered to be part of that, but the talent is in the designers, not in the models.’

It was Bunny Schpoliansky, a film director friend from Paris, who persuaded de Vasconcelos into her first film role four years ago-a glide-on part in Riches, Belles etc with Claudia Cardinale. She enjoyed it so much she signed up for acting classes in Paris and London. Now she divides her time between London and Monaco (where she ‘feels safe’). One senses that modeling has become distinctly infra dig. ‘ I used to be irritated when people did the whole “model-turned-actress” thing, but it doesn’t worry me now. After all, Audrey Hepburn started out as a model.’ Hepburn, with her commitment to humanitarian causes, is an inspiration. Among her extensive charity commitments, de Vasconcelos has worked as a roving ambassador for Unicef and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. On 12 May she will act in An Enchanted Evening at London’s Theatre Royal, a gala performance of the music of Richard Rodgers on behalf of the Neuro fibromatosis Association. “It’s a way of putting something back,’ she say. ‘I’m particularly glad to be able to work for the Third World because of my own early experience in Africa. When people ask, “What does a roving ambassador actually do?” I answer, like Audrey Hepburn, that “I am here for the children.”
It is a queenly response. Indeed there is something of the minor royal in de Vasconcelos’s whole manner. Would she consider making it official and tying the knot with Albert of Monaco? (Rumour has it that Hola-the European Hello1-has the cover ready to go to print.) ‘I respect Albert and we remain good friends,’ she says with no-further questions finality.

There is no doubt about it. Tasha de Vasconcelos is an odd bird; part jeune fille bien rangee, part grande dame. There is humor there: you get the feeling that if she let herself go she could be fun in five languages. But ‘letting go’ is not her object right now. De Vasconcelos is not about to jeopardize her future with a murky past. If that makes for a slightly bland present, so be it. Tasha de Vasconcelos is saving herself for something big.

An Enchanted Evening is at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London WC2 (020-7494 5055) on 12 May. For VIP tickets telephone 020-7349 3833.

Aos 32 anos, Tasha de Vasconcelos aca¬ba de concretizar um sonho antigo, ao colocar a primeira pedra no local onde será construído um orfanato para crianças afectadas, directa ou indirectamente, pelo vírus HlV/sida. Um projecto ambicioso que a manequim e actriz tenciona acompanhar de perto, ou não fosse esta a primeira acção da associação que criou há cerca de um ano, a AMOR (Aids Mozambique Orphanage Rescue). Filha de pai português e mãe inglesa, Tasha passou a sua infância na cidade da Beira, em Moçambique, onde só regressou 30 anos depois, precisamente para dar início a este projecto, para o qual conta com a colabo¬ração da associação monegasca Lês Enfants de Frankie, que conca com o alto patrocínio do príncipe Alberto do Mónaco.

Recorde-se que, em tempos, se chegou a dizer que Tasha mantinha um relacionamento amoroso com o príncipe Alberto, embora Nahum dos dois tenha confirmado esta relação. Certo é que ambos continuam a ser muito amigos, e não é por acaso que a maior parte do dinheiro que será investido neste prometo foi cedido, precisamente pelo príncipe.

Para a realização deste projeto foram também determinantes os apoios oficiais concedidos pelo presidente de Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, e pela primeira'dama, Maria da Luz Guebuza, que nãoesconderam o orgullo por contarem com o empenho de uma figura do jet set internacional na construção deste orfanato, que permitirá acolher a cerca de 150 crianças afectadas ou não pelo vírus, e que terão não só acompanhamento médico como poderão aprender um ofício que lhes dará a oporunidade de se inserirem na sociedade.

“Todas as crianças merecem ter saúde, educação e esperança para o futuro”, disse Tasha de Vaconcelos no final desta viagem, que acabou por ser a continuação do trabalho que tem desenvolvido nos últimos dez anos para bem de crianças desfavorecidas.

É embaixadora da Boa Vontado da UNICEF na Bolivia para crianças subnutridas e na Argelia para as crianças vítimas de guerra, além de apoiar projetos de solidaridade, como o Children´s Fund, de Nelson Mandela, e uma associação portuguesa que apoia crianças dependentes da droga.

-Tem desenvolvido inúmeras acçoes em torno de crianças desfavorecidas. Porque decidiu agora criar a associação AMOR?
Tasha de Vasconcelos – Para conseguir concretizar um sonho pessoal, uma vez que será implantado na cidade onde nascí. Confesso que este projeto é também uma forma de prestar homenagem ao meu pai [que morreu em 2004]. Quero empenhar-me ao máximo nesta missão e espero conseguir cumprir os objetivos que estipulei.

- Nasceu na cidade de Beira. Foi por isso que escolheu este país para dessemvolver a primeira acção da sua associação?
Escolhi Moçambique por ser um país que tem necessidades urgentes, mas também por ser o sítio onde passei a minha infancia.

- Guarda boas memórias de sua infancia?
Sim. Foi aquí que tive oportunidade de brincar com leoes e manguitos, que ví as primeiras ondas do mar, que comecei a descifrar sons mágicos, que aprendí a suportar o calor e que testemunhei a generosidade das pessoas. Foi também neste país que ganhei uma forte ligação com a Natureza, que me tem acompanhado pelo mundo ´sofisticado´ e que me ajuda a manter a minha essencia, a ser genuína.

- Tem alguma previsão de quando derá possível inaugurar o centro?
Acreditamos que, daqui a um ano, já estaremos operacionais. Para tal, conto com a ajuda de vários profissonais: professores, médicos e também a minha mãe.

- Esta associação conta com o alto patrocínio do príncipe Alberto do Mónaco...
- É uma grande ajuda para a associação. Ele está muito contente por ver como todo o projeto tem evoluído.

- Depois de ter visto reconhecido o seu trabalho como actriz nos filmes John English, de Peter Howitt, e Dot the i, de Matthew Pakhill, tem mais algum projecto para breve?
- Não, por enquanto estou apenas concentrada neste projecto da associação, embora não me impeça de aceitar outros projectos no futuro.

Es guapa, culta, cosmopolita, políglota y, además, solidaria. Conocida como "la princesa perfecta" por la relación que mantuvo con el príncipe Alberto de Mónaco en 2001, Tasha de Vasconcelos ha abandonado definitivamente su carrera como modelo y ha emprendido un nuevo nimbo: la interpretación. Entusiasmada con su preparación como actriz en Los Ángeles, ha guardado un hueco en su agenda para apoyar a UNICEF, entidad con la que colabora desde hace tiempo. "Esa tarea se ha convertido en una pasión para mi", confesaba a Gala hace unos meses. Convencida de que la ayuda a los mas pequeños es fundamental para hacer un mundo mejor, viajó a Mozambique para apoyar a los niños enfermos de sida. Muy emocionada, Tasha visitó numerosos centros infantiles, para los que busca financiación. Una labor doblemente emotiva en este caso, ya que el viaje superna el regreso de la actriz a la tierra donde nació y creció hasta los 11 años. Hija de padre portugués y madre inglesa, su vida siempre ha estado marcada por los viajes. "Crecí en África y luego estuve en Canadá, Nueva York, Londres, Paris y, ahora, en Los Angeles, pero mi hogar está en Mónaco", contaba a está revista. Sin pareja actualmente, su íntima amistad con el príncipe Alberto aún permite pensar que algún día puedan retomar su relación.

Inés Bisiers
Fotos: Queen

«Sono nata qui e questa terra scorre nelle mie vene », dice Tasha de Vasconcelos, che racconta il suo viaggio umanitario in Mozambico in missione speciale per la campagna Unicef contro l'Aids

di Flora Lepore Foto di Daniel Angeli

BEIRA (MOZAMBICO)- maggio

Sono le foto del suo ultimo viaggio in Mozambico nella veste di volontaria in missione speciale per la campagna Unicef contro l'Aids. In un Paese in cui, a fronte di 18 milioni di abitanti, si stima che 1 milione 300 mila siano sieropositivi e che gli "orfani" di genitori colpiti da Aids siano almeno 3oo mila.

«Nel corso del mio viaggio ho incontrato il presidente Guebuza e il ministro degli Esteri e ciò mi fa sperare molto», dice Tasha de Vasconcelos, che non da oggi si spende per i bambini in difficoltà. Lo ha fatto per le missioni Unicef contro la malnutrizione in Bolivia e poi in Algeria per i bambini vittime della guerra. «La prima volta che accettai di fare questa esperienza», dice, «mi aspettavo di restare orripila-ta e impaurila dalla realtà che avrei incontrato. In verità rimasi stupita solo dall'amore e dal calore di gente così colpita dalla vita. All'apparenza questi bambini non hanno niente, ma se solo l'uno per cento del loro affetto e della loro determinazione potesse essere trasferito al resto della popolazione su questa terra, il mondo sarebbe un posto con meno guerre e in pace». Anche Tasha ha conosciuto la guerra; nata a Beira in Mozambico da una famiglia ricchissima, il padre portoghese e la mamma inglese, ancora neppure adolescente dovette scappare dal Paese in preda alla rivoluzione e riparare prima in Rodesia e poi in Portogallo e in Canada, dove ha studiato all'università di Vancouver. «Sono una africana bianca», ama ripetere. «Ho l'Africa nelle vene» Dopo l'approdo a Parigi, arrivano lesplosione della carriera di modella fotografata da Steven Meisel per le copertine di Vogue, il debutto nel cinema con Riches, Belles... al fianco di Claudia Cardinale, il legame rapidamente fallito col couturier Jean Charles de Castel-bajac e l'arrivo nel Principato di Monaco. Qui per molto tempo sì è accompagnata al principe Alberto, tanto da far diventare insistenti le voci di un suo "sicuro" matrimonio con lui. Se Tasha ci avesse davvero sperato, non l'ha mai confessato pubblicamente, ostinandosi a ripetere che lui per lei è stato un grande amico. All'epoca della rottura della loro "amicizia" si disse che la causa fu il fatto che lei fosse "una divorziata" e che per questo e per il divieto severo dello scomparso Principe Ranieri non potesse impalmare il cattolicissimo Principe, «Non sono mai stata sposata», ha chiarito lei, «Con Castelbajac siamo stati solo fidanzati». Sia come sia il sogno monegasco, se mai ce stato, si è infranto come le onde contro la Rocca e ora contro le attuali voci che vedono al fianco di Alberto II (ironia del destino!) un'altra africana, la campionessa di nuoto sudafricana CharJene Wittstock apparsa inseparabile dal regale amico durante le Olimpiadi invernali di Torino. A Monaco già si parla dì nozze per il prossimo autunno. Se così fosse, Tasha andrà al ricevimento dello sposalizio del suo "grande amico"? Certamente si: noblesse oblige. E lei, discendente di una delle più antiche e aristo cratiche famiglie lusitane, come mostrano le nostre foto, nobile di cuore lo è già.


By Flora Lepore

You were invited to the Elysee Palace in France this week by the President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, tell us about this invitation ...
I was in North America when I received the invitation from Mr Jacques Chirac, the President of France, who invited me to the Elysee Palace for a dinner in honour of the President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio and I was very honoured by that. What a wonderful way to arrive back in Europe.

So in a way this shows that you´ve really been adopted by France and Monaco?
Yes... I guess so. The French has always extended a great friendship to me and I think this invitation is very much a sing that those feelings are still there. I have a very long Portuguese lineage, and relations between France and Portugal go back a long way, as underlined by Mr Chirac during his speech, and Mr Sampaio echoed the same thoughts. They both had the same dialogue in the sense of maintaining the wonderful friendship between this countries and constantly working together towards a Stronger Europe.

You come from an old Lusitanian family - one of the oldest aristocratic families in Portugal. Tell us the story of how your ancestors were granted their coat of arms by the king...
Our roots go back 29 generations on my fathers side. Nuno Alves Pereira, one of my ancestors, has the coat of arms, the Cross of Aviz bestowed on him by the king for leading Portugal to victory against Spain at the famous battle of Algeborota.

It´s an interesting time with the European constitution being played out. What are your thoughts about that?
I think the idea of a United Europe is a very positive thing. We need to have a strong union.

What did you wear for your dinner with the presidents?
Olivier Teskins from the House of Rochas dressed me. It was a very beautiful pale blue-lavender colour silk organza tuilled dress with long ice pale blue kidskin gloves. There was a little train in the back and the bottom was in a mohair trim matching the dress. I was wearing antique Boucheron earrings.

How would you describe the evening?
Absolutely magic... enchanting, from the moment you step on the red carpet with the Presidential guards, on through the incredible apartments of the Elysee Palace dressed with exquisite flowers and candles... all incredibly elegant. What a beautiful palace they have in France!

What did you speak about with the President?
I expressed that I was very honoured and happy by this invitation, and he said he was very happy that I´d come. He ha a great sense of humor. We´d a laugh and he´s very charming.

You´ve been involved for many years in humanitarian activities. Did you discuss this with the ministers present?
Yes. They were aware of the work I´ve done with UNICEF and we discussed how we could join forces on a project to help the children.

You´re a resident of the Principality of Monaco and a friend of the Princely Family . What are your feelings about the passing of Prince Rainier III?
I am very saddened by the loss of Prince Rainier. He was a great man, and a tower of strength, and he´ll be greatly missed.

Tasha de Vasconcelos, Prince Albert of Monaco's former girlfriend, aristocrat, International Relations graduate turned actress and model, and founder of the NGO AMOR, alternates humanitarian work with a luxurious social life. We took some fashion photographs and had an intimate chat.

I met Tasha de Vasconcelos on a two day lightning trip to Moscow at the start of July. During this time we had several brief encounters and one five hour meeting. Her plane from Paris arrived in the late afternoon. That evening she had to attend the presentation of one of three jewellers from Spanish firm Carrera y Carrera in the Russian capital. The following day she had two sessions with Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the next a session with MAGAZINE, along with the awards ceremony at the closure of the Moscow Film Festival. This is image work. Her job.

Weeks earlier, in Madrid, I had asked directors from Carrera y Carrera, sponsoring the festival, whether they would allow me to do a story on the work of this celebrity, along with a fashion shoot featuring their jewellery, given that it was the first time in their 120-year history that the company had produced a collection of high class jewellery and also the first time a Spanish brand competed in this sector of ultimate luxury. Carrera y Carrera is one of only a very few international jewellers that have their own workshop; Harry Winston, JAR, Stern and Van Cleef & Arpels are others. A film festival is the perfect place to display their wares. Whether at Cannes (sponsored by Chopard), Venecia (sponsored by Bulgari) or the Oscars, the stars always flaunt extravagant jewellery at such events.

Carrera y Carrera arranged the session and introduced us to Sandra García-Sanjuán, Tasha's agent in Spain and accompanying her on the trip. We stayed at the same high-security hotel near the Kremlin, an armoured Hyatt resembling the embassy buildings during the times of terrorism. Hotel clients include Arab sheikhs with their entourages, business men, business women and rich tourists. It has a tacky, Oklahoma shopping mall feel about it, on its large, 10-floor steel and glass site. There are security guards on every floor, cameras everywhere and the lifts are operated by the room card. Introductions were brief as Tasha had not much time to get herself ready and go to the jewellers, yet we got along immediately. She has been trained to be quick and knows how to maintain a certain distance while maintaining an air of confidence. There were already several famous Russian actors and actresses, designers, clients and journalists at the festival when she arrived. In a short black dress, she attended to the television crews and reporters and returned to the hotel an hour and a half later. It was 10.30 pm and she was tired. She was going to have dinner in her room and we said goodbye until the next morning.

I visited the Harper Bazaar team during a photo shoot with Tasha. In the hotel bar at lunch she ordered a salad and a glass of champagne. She was direct, "You will probably find it contradictory that I do these things but am also interested in humanitarian work. Many people don't understand, they find it hard to believe. They appear to be incompatible life principles. The truth is that I consider them to be compatible". I told her I agreed that purity lies in the mixture. She smiled, "Coexistence cannot exist without respect. It is a greater determining factor than love."

Perfect Education. Tasha de Vasconcelos da Mota e Cunha was born in Mozambique to a Portuguese father and an English mother. Her father is from an aristocratic family with origins in 13th century Portugal. She grew up in Mozambique and her structured life plan would have directed her towards university, a big wedding and a discreet life. She registered at the University of British Columbia in Canada and the plan continued smoothly until she began to nip off to New York to do modelling work. She did her first Vogue cover with Steven Meisel. Many more followed, along with campaigns for Dior, Calvin Klein, Balenciaga and others. She graduated and studied International Strategy in Paris and Acting in London, continuing to model and beginning to do cinema, theatre and television. In addition to these numerous activities considered inappropriate for a woman of her standing, Tasha's relationship with Prince Albert of Monaco began to feed the gossip press. To top it all, the relationship failed. Her family was unsupportive and she does not speak about politics or other thorny issues with her sister, Pamela, who is married to a well known diplomat in Washington. They are unspoken issues that keep the relationship alive. "I would give my life for her. She is a blood link"

I didn't ask her about her relationship with Prince Albert. She didn't mind, but was relieved, not because she wanted to avoid an issue of which she has made the most on other occasions, but simply because she gets bored repeating the same words: "He is a real gentleman", "I am pleased that he is happy". I told her I have never really been interested in Prince Albert and that his strident attitude in Singapore harmed Madrid's candidature for the 2012 Olympic Games. "Well, I think Spain is doing very well. It is a country with an important history, which it demonstrates in the power it is gaining in Europe. Other countries get nervous when Spain takes the initiative. They hate to lose influence". Sandra García-Sanjuán wanted a word: Tasha had to be in bed early in order to be ready for the next morning. We said goodbye until the following day. The photo session started at 10 am and lasted over than five hours. The ceiling of the room was a large glass skylight and, much to the photographer's desperation, the light that Moscow morning changed every two seconds. The early morning sky was cloudy, but the wind swept the fast moving clouds and we switched continuously from winter shadows to blinding rays of sunlight. Tasha didn't mind skipping lunch, preferring not to work under pressure and to appear beautiful. Despite her confidence in her 1.79 m body, she was rather disconcerted that we had tied her hair back. She is proud of her long hair and feels naked without it. We said that celebrities overuse long hair and she said that she ties it back when she travels on humanitarian missions to Africa. This is a small gesture of humility, a momentary resignation of the ostentatious striving for long hair in the rich world. Tasha collaborates with UNICEF, UNESCO and the Nelson Mandela Children's Foundation. She changed in the bathroom and asked us to put on music and bring her a glass of white wine. She insisted on letting her hair down, but we were reluctant. She is liked for her similarity to Queen Rania of Jordan. Two days ago she was photographed with her long hair blowing in the wind for the front cover of two new franchise editorials in the Middle East. It was after 3.30 when the photographer took the final shot. She ordered a salad and a sandwich while a car waited to take her to the festival.

Hundreds of people screamed and clapped when Gerard Depardieu walked down the blue carpet to the Octobre Theatre (celebrity carpets are not red in Moscow). The routine was repeated several other actresses and local directors and there was a burst of applause and shouts when a doorman opened the door of the Mercedes and Tasha appeared with her long silky hair, wearing a long dress and a necklace worth over €150,000 Euros. She is very popular there. The Russian interpreter told me that Muscovites love anything connected to Monaco and its people. Muscovites love excess and opulence, as is is evident all over the city. Like many other cities, Moscow is losing part of its history with the arrival of an invasive species: modernity. Although none of our faces were familiar to them, behind us people were applauding us as if we were foreign celebrities. Due to the strange sensation of parading down a 100-metre long blue carpet surrounded by crowds of people we were all wearing stupid fixed smiles.

Tasha was met by film director Niñita Mikhalkov. The festival wanted to highlight the Moscow scene, but the contrasts highlight its conflicts. The October Theatre looks like a run-down Las Vegas cinema and the event is broadcast live, nationwide in a mixed atmosphere of caramel popcorn and blackened carpet. As in any festival, the film industry world is egocentric and self-appraising. On stage each person fulfils his or her role. Tasha does the same, and does it well.

A "Schizophrenic" life. When the ceremony was over the organisers reminded Tasha that the gala dinner started in three hours time. She decided not to go as she had another engagement. The organisers were surprised. I heard that Daryl Hannah attended on a previous occasion and was charming. No, she would not go. These dinners are all the same and, as Paulo Coelho wrote in The Zahir, seen one, seen them all. We returned to the hotel around 7.30. Tasha didn't change for her later appointment, asking instead for a glass of champagne and talking about how schizophrenic her life is. "I don't consider what I am doing is bad. I need both things. When people ask why I do humanitarian work or insinuate that I do it for fame I only tell them that I was born in Mozambique. I know what goes on in the world and I need to contribute towards improving many things". I said we were at a festival in Moscow, staying in an American hotel, drinking French champagne, that she was wearing Spanish jewellery and that it got dark at 11 in the evening. I repeated what I had said earlier about purity being in the mixture of metaphysical and physical. She smiled. In Germany next November UNESCO is presenting her with an award for her AMOR (Aids Mozambique Orphanage Rescue) foundation. 48 hours had passed and she had to go. We said goodbye.

By: Gervacio Pérez
Photos: Javier Suárez

After a highly successful career as a supermodel, having been mooted by some as the "perfect Princess" for Prince Albert of Monaco, and seen in past years gracing stage and screen in Europe, Tasha de Vasconcelos has taken up a new challenge: Hollywood has become her "second home". Her most recent film role, a short but very sultry appearance in "Johnny English" with Rowan Atkinson, left some critics comparing her in style to Julia Roberts, although ultimately more exotic. This is thanks to her Portuguese and English genes, and having grown up on the wilds of Mozambique, before moving to Canada with her parents after the revolution. Her newest role, in a feature for Discovery Networks, reflects her African upbringing. In "Animal Planet - Growing Up Giraffe", soon to be broadcast around the world on 180 stations, Tasha takes us on an incredible journey with a baby giraffe and the devoted human caregivers who help raise it. It looks like being the first of a number of appearances on the network, following in the footsteps of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston... but will she land a major film role? In any case, Robert de Niro is reported to have described Tasha as "an Angel in Hollywood", and Kevin Costner in Monaco for the Pro-Celebrity Golf tournament, was quick to notice her beauty and talent. We join Tasha for a day in her life in the city of Angels.


Tasha what prompted you to come to LA? Surely the competition is far fiercer here than in Europe...

I thought I needed to polish up my surfing In Malibu. Actually, Hollywood is the movie capital, so it's the obvious place to be. About the competition -I love a challenge. You can only compete with yourself anyway.


So Los Angeles has become your home away from home?

Monaco is home. My life has always involved a lot of Travel. Los Angeles is
wonderful, but I couldn't imagine living here permanently. I love coming here, meeting people, and doing what I have to do, then heading back to Europe. I especially love being here during the buzz of the Academy Awards, with the excitement and sparkle.


I know you´d been over to visit friends like Kevin Costner and other famous people here. But now you spend a few months of the year here. What was the turning point that sparked you spending more time here?

I came here for some screen tests and meetings and I decided it would be logical to spend more time here.


Knowing people like Robert De Niro, it must help a little...

Well actually, he did give me some interesting tips. He´s a good fiend. But
interestingly it´s important that the women like you here. I think Hollywood has some very strong women who are highly respected.


Who could you cite as an example?

I first met Elizabeth Taylor in Cannes at Amfar. She's one of the truly great women of
Hollywood. Of course I love the men too!! I have lovely friends here and many acquaintances. It´s much like a village in many ways.


You said DeNiro gave you some advice. What was it?

Over lunch in Paris he said: "Always be true to the script, and make sure it´s a great script."


George Hamilton is another cohort. Did he give you any advice?

He's dear friend. Lots of advice... and he recommends humour in everything.


Tell me about your day to day life when you´re here in LA. What´s different about living here and what do you like the best?
There is something to say about waking up with the sun every day. I love riding in Malibu and going for walks on the beach. As I grew up in Africa, nature is very important for me and I love that about California.


You're also part of a Hip-Hop Yoga group. That sounds pretty weird...

It´s quite interesting actually. The teacher is the Tiger Woods of Yoga teachers. It´s not at all like a regular yoga class. There's the hottest, coolest music but it's very relaxing.


Back to work... Tell us about your new role.

Discovery Channel and Animal Planet were looking for celebrity personalities who could work with the animals. Aside from the passion I have for my acting work and UNICEF with the children, I am thrilled to work, with Animal Planet. The first project was "Growing Up Giraffe". The story is centred on Kalula, a new born giraffe at Safari West in Northern California , were we follow her journey... from her miraculous birth through to adulthood. Safari West is also the favourite escape for Robert Redford. The people at Discovery have made the show very personal. They've brought in Africa and my childhood with pet lions and mongoose. This first programme will be airing at the end of March. It´s a very beautiful story... there was a real chemistry between the giraffes and me. I was hugging them all the time! It was a great project and there will no doubt be others to come throughout the year.


Where?

Africa has been mentioned as one option and I would love to do a Koala story.


W.C. Fields once said "never work with kids or animals". Isn't it difficult working with animals?

Oh no. I think animals and kids are the easiest to work with. They're so direct ... So I don´t agree with him.


Back in Monaco, in the past, we´ve seen that you were very close to Prince Albert. Are you still in contact with him?


Prince Albert is always a friend. We've had a lovely friendship which continues and he's someone I respect very much, He does a lot of good in the world and is extremely generous when it comes to helping the needy. I especially admire the fact he's gone on a mission to Sri Lanka for the Tsunami victims which shows his implication and dedication to making the world a better place.


Do you have anyone "special" in your life over here?

All I can say is that if there is anything to announce you'll be the first to know!


The Academy Awards have just taken place. What do you think about the "Oscars"?

It is an exciting time of the year in Los Angeles. It's a buzzing place, and I love that, along with things like The Vanity Fair party. And it's a good chance to be with some of the actors, writers and directors who I admire so much. The success of Million Dollar Baby shows we're looking for those beautiful stories about human relations. Films like Casablanca have always been my yardstick. I also thought Cate Blanchet was most elegant. She had that sophistication from another time, but with a modern twist and that's what I think Hollywood is looking for again.


Do you aspire to an Academy Award one day?

I think the Oscars are wonderful, but you don't work to get an award. That being said, it's always nice to be acknowledged for excellence.


Are you still actively involved with UNICEF?

Yes. I was recently in Ottawa, meeting with the Canadian representative for UNICEF and the Governor General to discuss a project. It's a continuing passion of mine.


Here in Los Angeles, walking down Rodeo Drive and taking coffee at the Regent Beverly Wiltshire, I can´t help but make the analogy with Julia Roberts and Pretty Woman. I guess it's not the first time someone has said this...

People have said we have a similar Smile. Of course it's nice to be compared with Julia, and I admire her enormously... she's so spontaneous and natural, I loved Pretty Woman because it was a true love story and a modern day fairy tale.


A bit like your life... a modern day fairy tale...

My life in a way has resembled a fairy tale, growing up in Africa, then living in New York, London, Paris and Monaco and with so many amazing experiences. Now there´s a new episode in Los Angeles, and it´s true that my life is very much like a fairy tale.


How would you describe yourself as a person and how have you changed in the past couple of years?

I think I´m usually straightforward and spontaneous. I still hold onto the child whitin... a Peter Pan quality. I recently lost my father which made me realize even more that one should value the special people in one life and treasure each moment we have.