Victoria Silvstedt : “Monaco is my happy place”
Fashion fan Victoria Silvstedt likes to shop at MC Market - © Victoria Silvstedt
Professional opportunities in Paris and Rome prompted the Swede to settle in the Principality in 2011.
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When she enters the room, she’s all you see. With her dazzling hair, her long legs and her sexy but elegant outfit, Victoria stands out, even in Monaco. We met her at the Monte-Carlo Bay where she ordered a vegetable, fruit and ginger juice. “I try to be healthy,” says the stunning Swede, who is particularly approachable and friendly.
“I lived for a while in the United States, but then I worked a lot between Paris and Rome, so I decided to settle in the middle, in Monaco. I have travelled all my life, in different countries, and for me Monaco is a great melting pot. In fact the more time goes by, the more that’s true, I love it!” says the polyglot, who is fluent in four languages: Swedish, English, French and Italian.
“I have a pied-à-terre in Miami and one in Stockholm, but Monaco is my happy place.”
After almost 15 years in the Principality, Victoria has seen it change. “There are more restaurants and places to go out now, even if I still miss the old Jimmy’z. My first memories of Monaco were made there,” says the beautiful blonde.
Speaking of restaurants, she says with a healthy dose of self-deprecation: “I eat out almost every night. Monaco’s restaurants are so good! I eat a lot, but I burn it off. I walk, I do yoga and Pilates, and I love playing tennis at the Country Club. I also love nature, we are lucky (in the Principality) to have the best walks along the beach and hiking trails. I go out a lot in the summer, there is always something to do in Monaco between the Grand Prix, the Yacht Show and all the other events and festivities. In the winter I like to fly to Miami or Saint-Barts. I grew up in northern Sweden you know, very close to the Arctic Circle, so I spent 18 years in the dark and the cold, and now I’m forever chasing the sun,” as evidenced by her golden tan, on February 15.
Difficult beginnings
Victoria seems to have had a thousand and one lives, the first of which was as a ski champion. “I came 4th in the Junior category nationals. My father pushed me a lot. Every weekend he’d wake me up at 5.00 am for competitions. Let’s say I didn’t have a normal childhood. All my friends were having fun while I was focused on my sport. At the time I also rode competitively in Sweden. I didn’t have time for boys! Now I’m grateful to my father for his discipline, because it has served me well throughout my life. The side of me that pushes me to always move forward, is down to him. This was particularly useful when I started out in the United States, because I would have gone under there if I hadn’t been strong enough. It was very tough in Paris too and I kept telling myself that if I failed, I’d succeed next time. Never give up!”
After a shoulder injury ended her skiing career, 16-year-old Victoria began to take an interest in beauty and was encouraged by her mother and sister to enter competitions. But back then, she wasn’t very feminine. “I never wore makeup and I didn’t even know how to walk in heels,” she says with an infectious laugh. Still, she came second in the Miss Sweden contest and was in the top 10 at the Miss World pageant.
The American Dream
Victoria then decided to try her luck at modelling, in Paris. “I was tall, blonde, muscular, with long hair. People told me you’re too this, too that, they wanted to change everything about me. It was a very difficult time that really tested my self-esteem. I was 18 and it was the toughest year of my life, with a lot of disappointments. I was alone, with no credit card, no cell phone. I would cry at night in my little apartment. My parents weren’t rich, they had just given me enough money for food for the first few weeks. I would do 12 auditions a day, and I’d take the metro with a map to try and find my way, and men would hover around me… It was a living nightmare. When I’d speak to my Mum on the phone she would try to convince me to come back home. But I didn’t want to give up, I told myself, “I don’t want to be a loser” and I gradually started to find work, I moved into another apartment…”
A chance meeting convinced the 21-year-old to fly to Los Angeles. “My profile was a better fit for the US,” says Victoria, whose American dream became reality. “I signed with Elite, and I launched my singing career after I met Max Martin, the singer-songwriter, and my film career, all at the same time!” Also at the same time, Victoria appeared on Italian television for a show broadcast on Italy’s main channel, Rai Uno, every Saturday. “I flew back and forth every week,” she recalls.
Meeting Christophe Dechavanne
As luck would have it, Victoria found herself in the same restaurant as Christophe Dechavanne, the French TV presenter, while in Paris for a one-off work assignment in the 2000s. “We were introduced, and he contacted me a few months later, saying that he wanted to do Wheel of Fortune, which was a huge hit in the United States. He told me I was perfect for it. I agreed, on condition that they provided accommodation, because I was living in New York.” The co-host lived in a hotel for most of her contract, only moving to Monaco during the last year.
Victoria says there are only positive takeaways from the experience. “If I’m living in Monaco now, it’s thanks to ‘La Roue de la Fortune’ [Wheel of Fortune in France]. I had a lot of fun with Christophe. He played a lot on the fact that I didn’t speak French, but after a while I was able to react to his teasing. I remember we would shoot five shows a day, so I needed five outfits with different hairstyles and makeup every day. it was really intense. I ached all over when I got home because I was on my feet in heels for the whole day. Now my feet are this shape, and I can’t walk in flats any more,” she tells us, pointing to the toe of her black thigh boots.
At the time, Victoria was married to American presenter Chris Wragge. “I committed too young, at 24, and the long-distance relationship was complicated. My husband wanted me to stay home, but I always wanted to work. I put my private life on hold for my career, and we ended up getting divorced.” Today, Victoria hasn’t aged a bit, “I am very young in my head,” she says, and confesses to being surprised that she is still so popular. “I was in San Remo for the Italian Song Festival a few days ago, and I was approached by lots of people, it was unbelievable. I thought, “Wow, they haven’t forgotten me!” Because it’s been a few years since I last appeared on Italian television. I also get people coming up to me in Monaco and France, but it’s more discreet.”
I do a lot of trading, I am interested in the stock market and finance, I like it, it’s one of my hobbies.
Also known in France also for having been the face of the Château d’Ax sofa brand, Victoria will be shooting several commercials. next week in Sweden. “I have a lot of work, but less than before because now I choose my own pace and I appreciate peace and quiet.” The hard-working celebrity also makes time for the ‘Les Anges Gardiens de Monaco’ charity. “We distribute food from restaurants in the Principality to people living on the streets in Nice. For me, it’s about giving back a little of what life has given me. I am also an ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation, an organisation that is based in Sweden and works to conserve and preserve the natural world. In 2022, we awarded a prize to Prince Albert II,” she says with pride.
After having, among other things, worked for Eurosport, taken part in a reality show for E! and the Ballando con le stelle show (the Italian version of Strictly come Dancing), is Victoria prepared to return to French TV? “I have been asked several times to take part in Danse avec les Stars [Strictly, in France this time, Ed.], but I don’t want to be in Paris any more and I want my freedom. I miss TV sometimes, but I have no plans to go back. Still, who knows, I never say never!”