Tell Us About Yourself?
I’m a passionate life lover in general. I’m a single mother of an 8-year-old daughter. I’m very aware of the fact I’ve had and still have a privileged life.
As I’ve had many opportunities in my life to grow into the person I am today, of course whilst falling and standing up again. I love to express myself in words, as well as non-verbal communication with my voice and body. I’m open minded, can laugh about myself and sometimes I can’t believe my true age.
My father is English, my mother half Austrian and I have roots of Eastern European ancestors. I come from a creative family, which worked out pretty well, considering the fact I’m a mix of many things.
What can you tell us about love?
Oh boy, so much and yet so little, from a partner relationship perspective. I’m still experiencing and learning each time I fall in love with somebody and start a relationship. But love in general for me, is about accepting what is already there and embracing everything that comes with it. Love is unconditional and to love somebody else, you need to love yourself first.
It took me some while (from teenager till early twenties I guess) to truly love myself. Something to do with my teenager period and having to find out who I was. Luckily, I have very loving parents who were always there for me, as well in a loving as a challenging way.
Love is an emotion that keeps people bonded and committed to one another. To live from love is freedom.
Love is caring, giving, receiving. Love is warming, open and honest.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Stay true to yourself, you’re good and beautiful as you are. Take your time and try not to compare yourself with others. It’s okay to not know where you’re going (this one is still very helpful)
To live from love is freedom. Love is caring, giving, receiving. Love is warming, open en honest.
What do you do for work?
I’m a moderator and host for online and live events and conferences, I’m a voice-over and a singer. I mainly moderate events around themes like (female) leadership, innovation digital transformation, education, and sustainability in the broadest sense of the word. Expressing myself on a stage with my voice, expression, and stories in cooperation with others is a privilege and a way to speak up and celebrate and to connect and encourage other people-women to do the same.
I still sing and hope to start sharing my own stories on stage again.
Background
I come from a creative family, my mother used to write and sing songs with her guitar but became a teacher and psychiatrist and my father originally trained as an actor and became a theatre director and teacher.
My dream was to become an actress and attended, after many rejections, the Amsterdam school of Arts (Hogeschool voor de kunsten) and Central School of Speech & drama (London) and became an actress and singer.
After some years of writing and performing my own theatre shows I became a mother of my daughter Sue. Shortly after that I had a break-up and needed to find other work to make a steadier living. I started presenting and my career slowly turned into becoming a moderator, for all sorts of industry.
(Nowadays I mainly moderate events around themes like (female) leadership, innovation digital transformation, education, and sustainability in the broadest sense of the word._
What’s your favorite fantasy?
That I can fly from tree to tree and that I can stop the time, freeze the world with a snap.
Best/worst things about getting older?
The best thing about getting older is that I’m able to recognize certain behavior and patterns of myself and becoming more me. More laughing wrinkles 😉
The worst thing about getting older is…that even though I keep fit by training (gym, running, yoga) I feel tired more quickly.
….that you suddenly get chin hair or hair at weird places where it shouldn’t be (recognize this ladies?!)
Best book you’ve read in the last year?
Te laat (Too late) by Vera Spaans a funny, imaginative and surprising book about why people come too late, or too early and a book about time in general.
You guess what type of person I am 😉
Favorite music?
Old soul music (Ella, Nina, Billie Holiday) Portuguese jazz and fado, vintage blues and classical music (difficult question for a singer)
Something No One Knows About You?
- I enjoy watching and hearing ASMR video’s
- I’m hooked on yoga nidra
- When I was 22, I walked into a hairdresser and said I wanted a Mohican hairstyle and she cut off my long curly hair into the funkiest hairstyle ever. (it took half a lifetime before my hair went back to normal but it was worth it).
How old are you and how old do you feel?
I’m 44 and I feel, well 44, sometimes 34, or younger, but most of the time I feel pretty good and fresh 😉
