Nastasia Urbano (57) earned millions, now she lives as homeless

Once Nastasia Urbano adorned the cover of Vogue, dined with Jack Nicholson and poured the money inside. Now Nastasia Urbano (57) has to survive as a homeless person in Barcelona. The decline is hard, but giving up is not in her dictionary.

Twenty years was Nastasia Urbano and the world lay at her feet. After assignments in Milan, Paris and London, pure beauty settled in New York, where she signed a contract with Ford. The model agency par excellence, her sandwich seemed to be finally baked. “I was on the cover of all magazines. I was a chameleon, people were not tired of me.”

Nastasia Urbano has worked for top brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Virginia Slims. Together with Linda Evangelista, she put her best foot forward to market Revlon’s cosmetic products. “I think I was the first girl to sign a multi-million contract. They gave me a million dollars a year, in exchange I had to work twenty days. And I got it for three years at a time.”

BMW for just two days

“I dined with Jack Nicholson, Andy Warhol and Roman Polanski. At parties I met Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson and Simon & Garfunkel. I was even about to go to the wedding of Madonna and Sean Penn. Actor David Keith was invited and he was my partner back then. But we had a firm hangover that day and we did not get hit. I lived like a queen,” Nastasia Urbano recalled

And yet it would be terribly wrong. “Every year I returned to Barcelona to visit my parents. I got to know the man with whom I would later marry. The only good thing I left with that relationship are unfortunately the children. For the rest, he was out of my money, I had to pay everything. We were only two days together and he wanted me to buy a BMW for him. I – stupid chicken I was – gave him that check as well. But what do you want, I was madly in love…” Nastasia Urbano added.

“Money was never a goal” – Nastasia Urbano

A friendly banker advised her to put a large part of her income on a Swiss bank. “There they said that I never had to worry again, with the interest alone I could live until my death. Due to the fault of my ex, however, I ended up in this misery. He made me sign certain documents, I cannot even remember that. Money was never a goal in my life, I have always been generous. Now I am sitting with the baked pears.”

Model Nastasia Urbano become homeless

That is still very softly expressed: Nastasia Urbano was put out of her house and become homeless at a certain time because she could no longer pay the rent. Sometimes she can still go to the sofa of a friend, but she often sleeps at night in the entrance hall of a bank. Meanwhile she also swallows pills against her depression. Her alcohol and drug problems are also out of the question. “But it is already better than before. I want to live but not survive. I’m tired of having to beg for money. Everyone leaves me alone and that does not surprise me. I now only hope that my children are okay and that they can be proud of me.”

“We the princess, she the goddess”

The poignant story that Nastasia recorded in the Spanish press has in the meantime also become clear to some of her ex-colleagues. They are now rolling their sleeves to help her on top. “I was not fine about her testimony”, says ex-model Ruth Schuler. Nobody expected this from her. When we stood on the level of a princess, she was the goddess.”

“I remember her as an introverted person, incredibly good and extremely generous. The first thing we have to do now is to talk to her. Then at least we know what she needs.”

Hernando Herrera – an ex-model who is now at the head of a studio in Barcelona – even sees a future in the fashion world. “She can still be very valuable, and not just as a model. For example, she can also take part in conferences and give speeches.”

In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for her. The counter is currently at 235 euros.