Born in London, Guinness, 56, married at 19, moved to Switzerland and had three children. She went on to work as a model, fashion writer and muse to Alexander McQueen and Karl Lagerfeld. In 2011, she created a show from her own archive for the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She began recording music in 2011 and, this summer, released her fourth album, Sleep. Divorced, she lives in London.

When were you happiest?
I am often happiest on a shoot with David LaChapelle, being pushed to the extremes – either suspended from a harness or immersed in a tank of water. He calls it “extreme modelling”.

What is your greatest fear?
Aggression without provocation or consequences.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My trust in other people. I am rigorously honest.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Gossip and backstabbing.

Describe yourself in three words
Creative, meditative, fun.

What makes you unhappy?
Betrayal and the loss of people I love.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My children obviously, but also my work.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Watching too much telly.

Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Anonymity. I like being in the shadows.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Strangely enough, I don’t really look in the mirror much. Growing up, I never thought I was exceptional or beautiful.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to be in the army or a spy in the intelligence service.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Fishfingers and ketchup, although I don’t necessarily feel guilty about it.

What do you owe your parents?
I think the best thing my parents did was stay out of the way!

What does love feel like?
Great. It feels wonderful – like a firework going off in your stomach.

If not yourself, who would you most like to be?
Julius Caesar.

What would you like to leave your children?
Everything.

What has been your closest brush with the law?
I once drove through a shootout in Los Angeles in an open-top car. I was coming underneath the freeway towards four police cars and the car they had surrounded, and I made a decision to drive right through it rather than being a sitting duck.

What keeps you awake at night?
Poetry. I start getting into a float state, and write stanzas and couplets in the middle of the night.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a force for good and a champion of the underdog.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you
Discipline. Also to have a goal, however small and whatever it may be.

What happens when we die?
I have been very close to death – when you get used to the idea of death then you don’t fear it. I have glimpsed what comes after and it does not scare me. I think we are more afraid of the manner of our death.

Tell us a secret
No. I’m known for my discretion.