Valerie van der Graaf
PLAYMATE
“The Dutch are very direct,” says Miss August Valerie van der Graaf, who was born in Rotterdam, half an hour south of the Hague. “We prefer being honest. If we don’t want to do something, we’ll tell you.” She pauses, thinking about whether her bluntness has ever gotten her into trouble. “I’ve been told I was rude at least a few times by an ex-lover,” she adds with a chuckle. “But I’m just being me.” Valerie, who now lives in London, loves talking about her hometown, a thriving modern city rebuilt after World War II whose government appointed a Muslim immigrant as mayor in 2008. “It’s like a little New York and beautiful in a different way from Amsterdam,” she says. When not traveling the globe for work, Valerie spends her downtime rooting for her local soccer clubs—Feyenoord in the Netherlands, Arsenal in England—and watching Eurovision obsessively. “I love traveling and exploring foreign cities. It’s the best part of modeling, but I’m also pretty—how do you say it?—Euro trash,” she says, laughing. “I love being European.”
VAL RIE
VAN DE GRAAF
AGE: 24 BIRTHPLACE: Rotterdam, Netherlands CURRENT CITY: London, U.K.
THE VERY SMALL DOWNSIDE OF
BEING DUTCH
I’ve been taking acting classes for the past year and a half. I appreciate both drama and comedy, as long as it’s well written. But with my accent, a future in acting is not very realistic. It’s going to take me a long time to get rid of it.
MY TYPICAL WEEKEND
My hometown is only an hourlong flight from London, so I can easily go visit friends and family on weekends. But I recently moved into a new flat In northwest London with a good friend, so I’m looking forward to havinggirlie time with her, watching movies and drinking malbec.
MY ATHLETIC SIDE
I’m not the best at sports, but I do love watching soccer. In 2012 I got tickets to the Olympic goldmedal women’s hockey match between Argentina and the Netherlands. I went with three other Dutch women, all wearing orange, and the Netherlands won! We celebrated all night.
WHAT IS EUROVISION ANYWAY?
For the unfamiliar, Eurovision is one of the biggest music and song competitions in Europe, featuring competitors from every country. The contest promotes togetherness across the continent, and millions of viewers tune in to watch. The catch? You can’t vote for your own country,
butsince I live in London I can get around that rule.
LONDON GALLING
If you’re visiting London for the first time, go on the London Eye on a clear day. Then walk along the South Bank, which is lovely even in winter because of the stands selling mulled wine along the way. And of course you must go to a proper London pub.
BUT FIRST, WINE
The best thing about traveling in France, Italy or Spain is that you can go into any café and get, an amazing glass of wine for four euros—practically nothing. Wine is cheaper there than Diet Coke, so why not drink it?
