"I hated what I looked like then. She's like this other person I've grown to love because she's always there. Whatever I do, she pops up, bless her -- this funny little face with the spiky eyelashes. I've a lot to thank her for," the 59-year-old fashion model, singer, actress and author told The Daily Telegraph.

She went on to credit her close family ties for protecting her from the destructive side of modeling.

"I was not just young but young for my age. I was living with my mum and dad and I didn't drink then," she recalled. "I remember ordering a Coca-Cola at a restaurant after the Paris collections in 1968. The outraged waiter asked me what vintage that would be."

Born Leslie Hornby, Twiggy is the face of the British department store chain Marks & Spencer. She told the Telegraph her beauty regime these days includes regular exercise, sleep, a good diet, skin creams, flattering, but not always expensive clothes, manicures, pedicures, massages, highlights and impeccable make-up, and no plastic surgery, laser treatments or Botox like some of her contemporaries use to maintain the image of youth.

"The whole thing of being depressed about getting older is wasted energy, so I try to be positive," she said.