Facts About Emily Ratajkowski That Set Her Apart From The Crowd
Emily Ratajkowski is not an ordinary celebrity. Beyond her status as a model and actor — dimensions that primarily define her public image — she is a fearless speaker of her mind. Either through her tell-all book, "My Body," or at protests that advocate for women's equality, which has, on one occasion, even led to her arrest, Ratajkowski has always found outlets for self-expression. And she is not demure about making noise about important issues. "As a fully grown woman, I continue to be shocked by how, in 2019, we look down so much on women who like to play with what it means to be sexy," she once opined in an essay for Harper's Bazaar. Many public figures would be wary of such candor — but not EmRata, as she is commonly called.
The mother of one, who has lived in the public eye from a young age, achieved meteoric fame in 2013 when she appeared in Robin Thicke's heavily disputed music video for "Blurred Lines." Though fame wasn't her goal, as she told GQ, it came to her by leaps and bounds.
As of this writing, she has a string of film credits to her name, including David Fincher's critically acclaimed "Gone Girl," in which she made her big-screen debut. On Instagram, she has a whopping 29.5 million followers, as of October 2022. Emily Ratajkowski's journey has been anything but linear and, in the way that it stands apart, deserves a recap!
She was pursued for modeling from a very young age
Imagine thinking you're loved only when you're beautiful. This heartbreaking situation apparently finds context in Emily Ratajkowski's childhood. "It seemed important to [my parents], especially to my mother, that their daughter be perceived as beautiful," the model revealed in her bare-all collection of essays, "My Body" (via Insider). Feeling beautiful was a way of feeling special for young EmRata, she revealed, and it was also when she felt her parents' love for her was the strongest.
A figure of intense male attention, Ratajkowski said she was sexualized at an early age — from being approached for modeling as a preteen to being told that her dress was "too sexy" for school. "I was a child, but somehow already an expert in detecting male desire, even if I didn't completely understand what to make of it," she wrote in "My Body" (via New York Post).
Though her mother wanted her to become a brain surgeon, Ratajkowski stepped into the world of showbiz at age 14, signing up with a modeling agency and landing a gig on the teen television show "iCarly," according to The New York Times. She soon transitioned to doing adult photoshoots and magazine covers, dropping out of college a year in to pursue her career. "Money meant freedom and control," she wrote in one of her essays (via The New Yorker). Ratajkowski has acknowledged the paradox of being a model, wherein one moment it empowers her identity and in another is only a means of financial security.
She is a voracious and knowledgeable reader
Emily Ratajkowski makes sure to take some quiet time out from her busy showbiz career to catch up on her reading. "I've been an avid reader my whole life," she told Interview, revealing that although she considers herself to have a short attention span, she still enjoys long books. The New York apartment Ratajkowski moved into after separating from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard also boasts of a swanky, sizeable library corner that declares her love of reading. "The absolute joy this (incomplete!) book shelf brings me," she wrote in an Instagram Story, sharing a snap of her ornament-laden bookshelf (via Elle). Director Max Joseph once accounted for Ratajkowski's literary interests, telling GQ, "She's an enigma in a lot of ways. I mean, she is very intelligent and she's very well-read, and she's also the girl who was in the 'Blurred Lines' video. And I think that we don't naturally put those two things together."
Ratajkowski's interest in the written word is only understandable since she is an author herself. Her 2021 collection of essays titled "My Body" explored a range of important themes, from feminism to body image. While reviews for Ratajkowski's book were mixed — with The Atlantic observing that it was in places myopic — it established the model as a writer of note. To her, it was a solid outlet for expression beyond her body, which, as she told Vogue, "It exists in one way, whereas writing allows for so much more nuance." (via Vogue). "Madame Bovary" and "All About Love" are some books on her personal bookshelf — if ever you wanted reading recommendations from EmRata herself!
She has not shied away from embracing her sexuality
For Emily Ratajkowski, sexuality isn't taboo. The model has never been one to shy away from expressing and embracing her sexuality before a global audience. According to Ratajkowski, who has often stripped down for the camera, women's bodies and choices should be celebrated. "When we see breasts, we don't think of beauty and femininity. We think of vulgar, oversexualized images," she told Allure. The interviewer, meanwhile, observed that the "Gone Girl" actor could transition comfortably between subjects of politics and sexuality. "As a culture we are scared of women generally, but also, more specifically, of the innate power that female sexuality possesses," she once wrote in an essay for Harper's Bazaar.
EmRata said she was attracted to feminine beauty standards at a young age, growing up to realize that she could feel equally powerful in a mini skirt as she could in an oversized hoodie. "I wish the world had encouraged my 14-year-old self to be more than just my body," she wrote in a moving Instagram post, advising teen girls to read more, worry less, and understand that social media didn't show the full picture.
In 2022, Ratajkowski made headlines after speculation broke loose over her sexual orientation. She hopped onto a TikTok trend that seems to indicate she was bisexual, Vogue reported. As someone who strongly advocates for personal choice, Ratajkowski told Allure, "To me, any expression that is empowered and is your own as a woman is feminist."
Baring all for a magazine cover launched her into stardom
With an estimated net worth of $8 million, Emily Ratajkowski is a successful model and actor. While Robin Thicke's music video for "Blurred Lines," in which EmRata appeared in 2013, launched her into stardom, it was originally a magazine cover photoshoot that put her on the map. In what was reportedly her first modeling job, Ratajkowski posed nude for Treats! magazine (via The Sun). The shoot, which included a series of monochrome full-frontal shots of a 20-year-old Ratajkowski, was led by fashion photographer and founder of the magazine Steve Shaw (per GQ). Interestingly enough, the shoot that propelled Ratajkowski's career almost didn't happen!
Shaw explained, "She came in wearing a black baggy smock dress with horrible four inch black plastic shoes on." She would have been sent home, if not for Shaw reportedly asking her to strip for the camera. "We just were blown away by this beautiful body," he said. This led Thicke, who also appeared on the erotica mag's cover in 2013, to pick out Ratajkowski as one of the models for "Blurred Lines." Apparently a fan of Treats!, Thicke's wife and friends to create a music video inspired by the magazine. Per E! News, Thicke showed the cover starring a nude Ratajkowski to "Blurred Lines" director Diane Martel, who said, "That's our girl!"
She eats pastries for breakfast
It may be hard to believe, but Emily Ratajkowski starts her mornings with cake! When she lived in Los Angeles, her breakfast ritual apparently involved her taking a trip down to Blacktop Coffee before 9 a.m. and grabbing her regular order of black coffee and a pastry. "I always pretend that I don't know what I'm getting. I'm like, 'Um, hmm, I guess I'll get ... a kouign-amann?'" she told Harper's Bazaar. Kouign-amann is a French confection that is best described as a softer, sweeter cousin of the famed croissant, according to Food Network. It literally translates to "butter cake" in Breton, the language spoken in the region where this sweet dish originates. We say, blessed be those days that begin with pastries!
EmRata's love of dessert items is, quite honestly, legendary. "I think [it's] good to indulge occasionally. I wouldn't say I am the type of girl who craves Doritos but I definitely love a good cupcake sometimes," she said in an interview with Elle. Needless to say, Ratajkowski's diet menu isn't all cake — though it isn't all salads either.
The model enjoys consuming meat, making sure she gets enough iron into her body. One way she keeps things balanced is by cooking her own food at home. "For me, it's about feeling good about what you eat," she put it concisely to The New York Times. She also confessed to not being militant about gymming, revealing that walks and hikes do the trick for her.
Rumors linked her to Brad Pitt
Paparazzi attention has been fixed on Emily Ratajkowski since the model rose to prominence after starring in the music video for "Blurred Lines." And her split from Sebastian Bear-McClard thrust her romantic life into the spotlight in September 2022, when EmRata reportedly filed for divorce from her husband of four years amid allegations of him cheating (via Page Six). The couple, who share a son, tied the knot in 2018 in a surprise ceremony only a couple of weeks after they were first spotted together.
Bear-McClard and Ratajkowski's breakup with fuelled renewed interest in Ratajkowski's forthcoming romantic endeavors and it wasn't long before rumor mills linked her to a Hollywood superstar. She was said to have gone out with none other than Brad Pitt.
A source told OK! magazine that Pitt allegedly had eyes for Ratajkowski as far back as 2020 and eventually asked her out. Amid speculation that the good-looking duo was dating, E! News indicated that they were spotted hanging out and things seemed casual between them. Fast forward a few days, and Ratajkowski came clean about her relationship status. "I'm newly single for basically the first time in my life ever," she told Variety in an interview published in October, adding that she was enjoying the freedom that came with it. The Ratajkowski-Pitt rumor was further dispelled when the model was seen locking lips with DJ Orazio Rispo on a date soon after (via The Cut).
She is a vocal advocate of body positivity
As someone who has been exposed to the public gaze for a considerable part of her life, Emily Ratajkowski hasn't ever shied away from reproving the culture of flawed beauty standards. "In my early twenties, it had never occurred to me that the women who gained their power from beauty were indebted to the men whose desire granted them that power in the first place," Ratajkowski, known for her skin-baring photoshoots, wrote in her book (via Goodreads).
A strong critic of patriarchy, the "My Body" author is decidedly feminist. Of her feminist beliefs, she told ABC News, "It's just about the ability to choose to be whatever kind of woman you want to be, to live whatever kind of life you want, to dress however you want, whether it be in a burka or a bikini." Her social media is a string of similar pronouncements; the mother of one was hailed by many for encouraging self-acceptance of pregnant bodies when she shared a nude selfie during her third trimester in 2021.
While EmRata's uplifting quotes about body positivity are outspread among fans, there is no dearth of criticism for her brand of feminism that some have deemed lacking (via UnHerd). As someone who has been accused of consistently partaking in the industry she calls out, Ratajkowski's activism often prompts divided opinions. Notably, the internet was ablaze with debate after the model showed herself with a flat stomach mere days after giving birth, with several people — including actor Claire Holt – observing that her photos promoted the unhealthy trend of pressurizing postpartum bodies (via Cosmopolitan).
Believe it or not, she briefly had a Tinder profile
For some, adventure looks like diving off a cliff or confessing love to a crush. For Emily Ratajkowski, it probably meant joining a mainstream dating app. In a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance, the renowned runway walker once signed herself up for Tinder.
Launched in 2012, Tinder has grown to become a popular meeting place for people to find love, dominating the dating app market with over 75 million monthly active users (via World Population Review). One would hardly expect to see a phenom like Ratajkowski casually hanging out in this vast dating pool. But she did. "I got drunk in New York with my friends at my apartment, and it was two in the morning, so I made a Tinder account for 20 minutes," she told GQ in 2015. Imagine swiping for matches only to see EmRata looking back at you! Some people apparently did, since she revealed she was recognized.
Though her little Tinder excursion didn't culminate in any dates, Ratajkowski has some thoughts on dating. "Under a patriarchy, there's this premise of men 'getting women,' 'getting them,' 'pulling them' like there's something to posses," Ratajkowski revealed in a since-deleted TikTok video (via E! News). "As a recently single person who is thinking about dating and stuff, I've really seen that with my friends and with the conversations around it." For EmRata, an evolved relationship begins instead with conversations about mutual love.
She has stood against sexism and harassment on several occasions
Not many celebrities have the gumption Emily Ratajkowski has to call out injustices so consistently in the social system, especially those that relate to women's rights. The "We Are Your Friends" actor speaks her mind on wide-ranging issues of gender inequality on multiple platforms — from social media to protests to interviews.
On Ratajkowski's Instagram profile, for instance, sexist trolls have it coming. On one occasion, the celeb defended herself against remarks about how she was a "s****y mother" (via Cosmopolitan); on another, she didn't skip a beat in appreciating her friend who was being body-shamed online (per Harper's Bazaar). She also weighed in on the Adam Levine cheating scandal in September 2022, saying that blaming women for men's mistakes was misogynistic (via People).
A vocal advocate of empowerment, Ratajkowski hasn't held back on opening up on distressing experiences she has faced in showbiz. Appearing in the "Blurred Lines" music video was considered to be a defining moment in her life; however, the experience was marred by what she has alleged happened on set. In her book, "My Body," she accuses Robin Thicke of groping her on the set of the music video. "I was nothing more than the hired mannequin," she wrote (via Yahoo).
She isn't particularly fond of bras
Emily Ratajkowski is among the countless people who don't enjoy being constricted by bras. Going braless is more her jam. "Bras are so uncomfortable and sometimes it looks so pretty to not have a [bra] line," she told Glamour, dishing that hugging people in that state made for some interesting situations.
Of going braless, Ratajkowski certainly walks the talk. She is famous for dazzling red carpets and formal events without lingerie, giving the world some iconic looks, as pointed out by Teen Vogue. Unfortunately, Ratajkowski's proclivity for bralessness has also attracted unwelcome attention in the past. She was targeted by trolls for ditching the undergarment while attending a protest against Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual misconduct, in 2018 (via Harper's Bazaar). "It was 32 degrees, I was marching through D.C. in jeans; my outfit seemed completely normal to me," she later explained.
A staunch advocate of women's rights, Ratajkowski has spoken about bralessness being a personal choice. "It's no one's business except your own!" she asserted at a fashion show while speaking to Elle. As someone with a large cup size, she recounted her girlhood experiences of being jealous of people with small breasts and went on to criticize the culture of hypersexualizing breasts. "We associate boobs with trashiness because we don't see it as something beautiful or we see them as something vulgar because it's scary," she further explained.