Naomi Campbell has been targeted by blackmailers.
The 47-year-old supermodel – who entered rehab for alcohol and cocaine addiction in 1999 and has been convicted of assault four times – has "learned" from her past mistakes but admits there are people who have attempted to gain from her conduct, but she refused to give in to their demands.
She said: "I took on my s**t and learned from it. I try to move on.
"But there are certain times when people try to use your past to blackmail you, to benefit them. That s**t I’m not going to allow."
The ‘Star’ actress feels very "grateful" for how her life has turned out and she makes sure she thanks God "every day" for her "blessings".
She told the Guardian newspaper: "I’m grateful for the way my path has turned out. And I am very spiritual, I do believe in God, and I thank God every day for my blessings because I know I am blessed."
And Naomi feels like she is in constant spiritual conversation with the late Nelson Mandela, who she refers to as "grandfather".
She said: "He may not be here on the physical plane, but he’s here, and I feel him.
"I never quite understood what Mr Mandela said to me when I was younger. I’m understanding a bit more now: I will ‘speak up for those who are unable to speak for themselves’ if I can."
Naomi has moved into acting in recent years, including roles in ‘American Horror Story’ and director Lee Daniels’ TV shows ‘Empire’ and ‘Star’ but she is grateful it’s taken her until fairly late in her life to change careers.
She said: "Put it this way. Everything I’ve had, I’ve worked for. And I will never take the easy way to get anything.
"So I’m grateful to Lee [Daniels] – I’m a grafter and I work hard at something for the long term.
"I don’t believe in things that happen overnight. I’m grateful not to have gotten it all because I think I would have lost it all. I came into everything so young."