Super Agent

Janice Dickinson Gives Us The Not-So-Skinny On Season 4 Of Her Oxygen Docu-Series … And Why She Won’t Be Doing Ads For BlackBerry Anytime Soon.

By Lori Acken

When the new season of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency bows Aug. 26 on Oxygen, expect to see our favorite supermodel turned superagent up to her ears in some supersized changes.

For one, she’s helming the agency by herself, with a boost from a brand new partner. For two, she’s sold the agency at Hollywood and Highland to take up residence in a surprising spot. But the, uh, biggest adjustment of all, says Dickinson, comes at the hands of her own 21-year-old son, Nathan Fields, who runs the agency’s commercial division. The lad decides it’s time for his old-school mama to do some new-school thinking and sneaks some plus-size beauties into the house … and the business.

If you think you know Janice Dickinson, read on. Sure, the woman is outspoken and frequently unedited — it’s kind of her job. But she’s also a whole lot smarter than you think. Smarter than me. Maybe even smarter than you.

Channel Guide: Any hints about what we can expect for Season 4?

Janice Dickinson: Lori, I want to tell your readers to hold onto their hats! Season Four of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency show on the Oxygen Network is going to rock your socks off! I move into a house to save money. I sell the old agency at Hollywood and Highland, because I figured, back in the day when I was the world’s first supermodel — the original — I moved to Paris and I stayed in a room as big as your closet. As big as a closet! There were, like, ten girls lined up on futons, like sardines in a can. That’s exactly how close we were. And if I remember correctly, those were the best years of my life.

We had no money growing up — I was poorer than a church mouse — but I got to be in Paris. I was living my wish-dream to become a model. When I saw Lauren Hutton on the pages shot by the late, great Richard Avedon, that’s what I wanted to be. I wanted to be that model.

Yow! Any second thoughts about the new living arrangement while you were packing up your stuff?

I figured the only way I could get these kids in model boot camp shape is to move them into a house — and I move into the house together with them. And I surveil them 24/7! Unbeknownst to them, they’re being surveilled! It’s hoot and a holler, because I wake them up in the morning and General Janice makes them make their beds. Half these kids are slobs!

I teach them. I am teaching them about photography, about lighting. I mean, I asked Maurice, my African American hunk, “What’s the last book you read?” And he said, “I don’t read books; I’m an entrepreneur!” So I said, “Well what do you want to be?” And he says “I want to be P. Diddy.” I said, “P. Diddy’s a smart guy — he reads!”

To that end, as more and more reality shows are churned out, it seems like the people who try out for them are more interested in becoming famous than actually winning whatever the competition might be. Are you finding that among your prospective models?

Some of the kids in my agency want to be celebrities, but those are the kids I throw out. I want models who want to be models. I really am looking for the next Kate Moss.

[This season] I’m also encountering an issue that I’m vehemently against — the plus-size issue. I am against that, as far as modeling goes. It doesn’t work in this industry, I’m sorry. I love men and women of all sizes — don’t get me wrong. But in the modeling industry, designers first start with the sketch and it’s about a silhouette. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.

Valentino, Versace, Azzedine Alaia, Yves San Laurent, Calvin Klein, Halston — I was their muse. They start with a sketch. And they don’t start sketching for plus-size models.

Next: But you gave them a shot … ?

Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | Next »

originally published — August 2008

Check out more featured content from our August 2008 issue