A former Aberdeen model has spoken of her life during the 70s as her “glamourous” career spiralled into a world of addiction.
Vicki Rebecca has been a trained pyschotherapist for almost 30 years, helping people overcome a wide range of emotional issues.
And her work stems from her own experiences – from running away from home at 16 for the bright lights of London, to battling a heroin addiction for almost a decade.
Sitting down with me now, the 67-year-old bares all – from fame to drug abuse – ahead of her new book being released.
She hopes that by opening up in its pages, she can be an inspiration to others going through “tough times”.
‘I felt like an outsider’
Growing up in Aberdeen was far from a “picture book life”, says Vicki who felt like an outsider in the city.
She said: “I was born in Aberdeen and brought up in Northfield. I went to what was called the Aberdeen High School for girls – it’s now Harlaw Academy.
“My mum used to take me on two buses everyday to go to that school. It was far from the picture book life.
“It was quite tough living in Northfield and going to a posh school. I was an outsider on both parts, I felt different and not as good.”
Yearning for a better life, Vicki moved to London when she was only 16-years-old chasing fame and fortune.
She said: “I always imagined a bigger life for myself.”
Lights, camera and action soon found Vicki as she became a successful glamour model during the seventies.
Describing it as living her “dream”, she feels proud of her modelling career.
She added: “London was brilliant, it was everything I imagined it would be and more. I enjoyed my modelling career, I was owning my sexuality.”
Vicki – who described herself as a “runaway” – made her way through the seedy photo booths of Soho of the 1970s before she became a page three girl and Marilyn Monroe lookalike.
She appeared on BBC’s hit television programme, The Two Ronnies, as well as featuring as ‘the nude’ in the title sequence of Bond film, Moonraker.
Although the big city soon became home to the youngster, a broken heart left her fluctuating between stardom, drugs and despair.
Vicki struggled with a heroin addiction for almost a decade, and she recalls being “a bit of a rebel”.
‘I was living two lives – as Marilyn Monroe and a junkie’
As her addiction spiralled out of control, Vicki was soon living two lives – as “Marilyn Monroe and a junkie”.
“I was eating McDonald’s, sitting in my joggers jacking up and then the next day, I’d be putting on my blonde wig to do a massive advertisement as Marilyn Monroe,” she said.
“This was going on simultaneously, which is what people find hard to understand.
“No one would have seen that. The people I worked with knew eventually as it became really obvious, but not in the photographs.”
She returned home to Aberdeen in 1987 after battling with addiction for nearly a decade.
But, she managed to find a new outlet for her pain as a spiritual experience changed her life.
Since then, she has never looked back. Her only focus now is continuing to try and help others as best she can.
“Even though there was a lot of darkness, there was a lot of laughter. But, I think there is still such a stigma attached to addiction,” she said.
“I hold nothing back in my book – I felt that society needed a level of authenticity and for people to be brave, which I have been.
“I think that’s what’s inspirational.”
Vicki’s memoir, Naked Truth: Diary of a Glamour Model will be available digitally from March 20 or paperback from March 30th.
More information can be found on her website here.
