brief encounters #8: happy birthday, heidi klum!

Heidi Klum tells me about life and swimwear at H&M (photo by James Higgins)

Supermodel, businesswoman, fashion designer, celebrity spokesperson, and Emmy winner Heidi Klum turned fifty-one on June 1, celebrating her birthday as she often does by posting topless images on Instagram. The German-born Klum, who was a judge and cohost on Project Runway and America’s Got Talent for more than twenty overlapping years combined — she’s still with the latter, which started its nineteenth season on May 28 — is also well known as a Sports Illustrated swimwear cover superstar, a longtime Victoria’s Secret “Angel,” and part of Barbie’s fiftieth anniversary Blonde Ambition doll collection.

When I met Klum, on May 15, 2003, a cold spring day, she was dressed in a yellow halter top, jeans, and open-toed heels, her golden hair falling over her bare shoulders; her nails were polished yellow to match. It was at H&M on Fifth Ave. in Midtown, where Klum was unveiling her new swimwear line. She was just about to turn thirty, and I was scheduled to interview her for a local weekly newsmagazine I was running; one of the perks of being editor in chief was that I could choose which stories I would handle myself.

I arrived at H&M with the magazine’s photographer, James Higgins; we were somewhat surprised to see a tremendous line leading out of the store and far down the block, hundreds and hundreds of fans waiting to take a photo with Klum and get a signed picture.

She was running late but eventually made a grand entrance to the thumping sound of Florida band the Rocking Horse Winner’s “Miss You.”

heidiklum

A post shared by @heidiklum

Heidi Klum celebrates her fifty-first birthday with her husband and four children (courtesy Heidi Klum/Instagram)

I thought I would interview Klum then, but the PR woman told me to stand back as Heidi greeted the throng and sat down in a lonely chair in the large entry space, all by herself. The horde came in one at a time, each getting a private minute or two with her; she engaged with every single person, smiles everywhere.

After a while, the PR woman declared, “Okay, now. You have five minutes.”

I looked at her and said, “What?”

She replied, “Go ahead,” and motioned me toward the star, in front of the seething multitude.

It appeared that she expected me to talk to Klum in the middle of this madhouse, where tons of men, women, and children were spending hours of their precious time in anticipation of meeting Heidi.

So when security suddenly stopped people from entering the store and this strange man who had not been on line approached Klum, photographer in tow, I was met with glares and stares that ranged from bewildered to downright angry. I could feel each of them thinking, “Who the f--- is that?!”

I’m not big on crowds, but as a journalist, you do whatever you can to get the story. In May 2002, I was scheduled to interview Diane Lane when she was honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center with a special career tribute. As she was leaving with an entourage, paparazzi snapping away, the press rep told me I should speak with Lane as she was walking, so I did. Oddly, I don’t seem to be in any of the published photos.

Heidi Klum is all smiles on magazine cover (photo by James Higgins)

Back at H&M, I had a lovely, if brief, chat with Klum. She discussed how she loves being in New York in the summer, living in the West Village, and visiting her parents in Germany. She also expressed some anxiety about the event. “There’s a long line. It’s nice that people come,” she said. “You’re always nervous if anybody will come.”

After we were done, in five minutes as promised, I could see the relief on the faces of all her devotees who had been fidgeting on line. I thanked Heidi, who looked at me with (what I deemed to be) puppy-dog eyes and asked, “Don’t you want to take a picture with me?”

I try to be professional at interviews; the only time I have ever asked a subject for a photo together was recently with the one and only Austin Pendleton; I also have a shot of me with Japanese director Takashi Miike, who suggested it upon offering me a signed poster of his latest film.

Heidi Klum insists on taking a picture with me at H&M (photo by James Higgins)

I could hear the buzz of frustration from the hungry crowd as I crouched next to Heidi, who tilted her head toward mine until we were gently touching.

It was then that I noticed that she smelled amazing, like a warm summer evening.

[You can follow Mark Rifkin and This Week in New York every day here.]