Vanessa Paradis Can Spit Water Through Her Teeth, You Know

So I completely take back any potentially-foul thing I may have ever said about Vanessa Paradis, because she completely killed any ill feelings I’ve maybe ever had about her in one fell swoop—and namely, because of this Harper’s Bazaar interview that I’ve gone and inserted the better bits and pieces of into this post. I talked a little bit about Vanessa’s interview spree over the weekend, when we discussed how she finally opened up about Johnny Depp and their split in Elle, and pretty much since then, girlfriend’s been on my mind.

See, in this interview, Vanessa talks about her anti-aging regimen (um, none), her privacy, how blessed she is to be living the life that she lives, and the big ol’ gap between her two front teeth. And guys, this woman is positively charming.

Here’s Vanessa on the topic of privacy for her family:

They [Vanessa and Johnny] made French their own private language, speaking it when they “needed to have intimacy, when you want to have secrets in the middle of a crowd,” Paradis says. Two children quickly followed, Lily-Rose, now 13, and John, nicknamed Jack, 10.

On being “chic vagabonds,” and how privileged she feels in this life:

“It takes a lot of thinking and organization,” Paradis says of the nomadic existence. Even now, their primary concern is to maintain a sense of balance and protect their children from the tabloid glare. “We have a very privileged life. But even when we are in L.A., where it’s focused on the film industry, it’s also very family-oriented. I’m in love with the schools. We try to keep it normal.”

On her appearance:

As for Paradis’s own beauty, it has simply morphed over the years: She has aged without a lot of fuss. Deep laugh lines frame her teal-smudged eyes, and her face reveals considerable animation. She says she doesn’t plan on plastic surgery. (“I don’t work in America, so I don’t feel the pressure.”) And forget about altering what the French call les dents du bonheur, or lucky teeth. “Why would I fix them? I was born with them. I can spit water through them. They’re useful!”

And finally, on what she’s looking for in a man:

The day that Paradis moves on, in France at least, the press will run wild again. There are already rumors linking her with singer-songwriter Benjamin Biolay and Lenny Kravitz, which one should take with an enormous grain of fleur de sel. That said, Paradis does have an eye for a specific kind of man. “Well, my type is obviously creative,” she says, with a quick smile. “Creative, with burning eyes and a pretty mouth.”

See? Completely delightful, non? And the thing is, I can sort of relate with the teeth thing. I really, really admire her for not getting the gap fixed, because when I was a young teen, I, too, had similar teeth to Vanessa’s. I had the big gap between the front two, and if I can speak honestly, these teeth were the bane of my adolescent existence.

Back before my parents paid for braces, I wouldn’t show my teeth when I smiled, and I’d go home crying when this one ass (who ironically sent me a friend request on Facebook a few weeks ago, though we haven’t talked in probably fifteen or so years) would tell me that he could probably “slide quarters through the gap between my two front teeth.” Kids can be so, so mean, and I never forgot how that business made me feel.

For Vanessa, now, to go ahead and shrug it off, embracing it, is kind of admirable. Whether or not they bothered her when she was a young girl, I don’t know, but it almost makes you wonder what kind of self-awareness you have to have in order to keep things the way they are—and be OK with them, too. ADMIRABLE.

As Emily said a few weeks ago, TEAM VANESSA.