If you haven't heard of Barbara Ferreira, you soon will have. Since her first shoot for American Apparel two years ago, this 18-year-old force of nature has become one of the hottest faces in modelling, thanks in large part to her eye-popping social media influence.
Reaching hundreds of thousands of followers across Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter with her flawless selfies and body-positive attitude, Barbara's star was already on the rise before she signed with agency Wilhelmina Curve earlier this year, and moved into her first apartment on New York's Lower East Side.
Below, Barbara walks us through an average day of food, workouts and social media stardom.
'I've been terrible at eating breakfast lately. I like smoothies, and things that go down smoothie-cool – when I used to live in Williamsburg I used to get an acai bowl most mornings. It's like a smoothie in a bowl, and it has açai and almond butter and granola, so many different flavors, and it's raw vegan.'
'My mom lately has been texting me 'good morning sweetie', first thing. Our relationship has got so much better since I moved out – now when I see her it's like, mom, you got cool! She's always been cool, I guess, but before I was like 'Ugh, stop being cool, you're embarrassing me!'
'I'm a big runner, and I like to lift heavy. I'm not one for those little two-pound dumbbells – my goal is to be super-muscular in my 40s. Women get so worried about bulking up, but you don't really get big as a woman, it's not like you wake up one day and you're a muscle machine. I like classes, but only when it's not hardcore, because that's still an insecurity of mine. In sports I was never as good as anyone else, I was dead last every race – one time I was third to last and I was like 'oh my god! Nailed it!'
'For a light lunch I'll do a salad from Sweetgreen, or if I'm hungrier I love a sandwich from Sunny & Annie's in the East Village. A lot of the sandwiches are named after presidents, and the Biden one is a croissant sandwich with chicken cutlets, avocado, sprouts, ranch dressing… oh my God, it's so good. It's like a normal bodega, but it has the best fancy sandwiches in the world.'
'Social media has changed everything in this industry. Friends of mine who would never be a model in any other day and age because of their height or their body type, girls with big boobs and no hips, or big hips and no boobs like me, they're getting work because of Instagram. It's like a business card. And girls relate to it so much because that's what reality is – not every plus girl is an hourglass.'
'I like inviting people over in the evening, because I don't like moving anywhere. Most of my friends live right over the bridge [in Williamsburg], so I'll call them an Uber and we'll watch Netflix, we'll have dinner, we'll go get empanadas.Last night I got invited to see Travis Scott and Justin Bieber play at Up & Down, and I was like 'Eh…'. I kind of regretted it! But the night was pretty perfect – I went out for dinner, got home at like 10.30, ordered Insomnia Cookies. They're amazing, they bring cookies to you at any time up until like 3am, with fresh milk.'
'I always, always take my makeup off last thing at night, no matter what. You can keep those little wipes by your bed – I love the Burt's Bees ones – so at least if you're that tired you can just use those to take off all the gunk. Every time I break out, it's because of my makeup.'
Barbara Ferreira will be attending this year's Harper's Bazaar Icons Party as our social correspondent. You can follow her throughout the evening on Snapchat & Instagram (@barbienox) and Twitter (@boredbarbara).
