Claudia Schiffer recently recalled some of the most outlandish moments of her long and successful career in the fashion industry:

“The strangest one was an Arab prince. He asked if he could hire me for a dinner for a million pounds. I declined, and some other supermodel took it.”

“It’s not all about money,” Schiffer explained. “I just want to be able to walk down the street and be proud of what I do.”

Schiffer’s modeling career started when she was discovered at a Düsseldorf, Germany night club at the age of 17. Schiffer said she never expected modeling to be a permanent thing. In fact, at one point she considered following in her father’s footsteps and becoming an attorney.

Instead, Schiffer became one of the original “supermodels.” Despite her initial hesitation about that label and the fact that Schiffer was painfully shy, she admits to relishing the fame she enjoyed back in the heady 1990s.

Throwback to one of our favorite campaigns with supermodel, Claudia Schiffer! #GUESS #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/XTvpi3DSqP

— GUESS (@GUESS) June 28, 2013

"I hated being the center of attention" – Claudia Schiffer in this week's issue of #THEEDIT. http://t.co/zs0ZEKFMsM pic.twitter.com/RvTn7Kj1vB

— NET-A-PORTER.COM (@NETAPORTER) February 2, 2014

Twenty-six years later, Schiffer still works occasionally in the fashion industry but does so very selectively.

“To be able to say no you have to be happy in yourself, and I am,” she says. “I am balanced and, though I am shy, I am secure and safe. I’m also secure in my position in fashion as I know I worked really hard over a long period of time.”

Congrats @PORTERmagazine on the 1st issue! Balmain SS14 pastel pink worn by #ClaudiaSchiffer is absolute perfection pic.twitter.com/i9v9piagND

— Balmain (@Balmain) February 7, 2014

Schiffer married British film director Matthew Vaughn in 2002, after a high-profile engagement to magician David Copperfield that lasted from 1994 to 1999.

Schiffer and Vaughn have three children: Caspar, 11; Clementine, nine; and Cosima, three. In early 2013 the family decided to reside primarily in their rural Suffolk home, enrolling their children in what Schiffer calls “a country school” in order to escape the constant presence of paparazzi.

“Matthew and I decided that it wasn’t a healthy environment in which to raise children,” Schiffer said of their life in northwest London.

But Schiffer finds herself back in London for the time being as she adds the role of executive film producer to her impressive resume. She’s working with Vaughn on The Secret Service, a thriller due out in March 2015 starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth. Other big names rumored to be attached to the movie include Adele, David Beckham, Michael Caine, Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

Schiffer is also working on interiors, props, wardrobe, hair and make-up for the film.

“I’ve helped on all his films before,” said Schiffer, “but over the years I’ve got more and more involved and my husband is more involved in my projects, so we’ve moved everything closer together.”

Image via YouTube