YOU! by Calvin French YOU! Magazine - Issue 1 | Page 45

F
Story By: Lorraine Waldropt
“Hey girl, where you at?”
I asked the woman whom I have admired for
years. The poised, passionate and pioneering
Wendy Fitzwilliam. I wasn’t the only one
admiring her that day as we met for a quick
chat at a coffee shop in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
Patrons sophisticatedly seated for their lunch
at the elegant food spot were oohing, ahhing
and jumping out of their chairs to take selfies.
When they saw her strut in to greet me in her
black pencil skirt, chic shirt and scarf to match
they became excited.
“Hi darling,” she said to me and we exchanged
hugs. And that’s the thing about the beloved
Miss Universe 1998, she genuinely loves
people. As people greeted her I saw how her
eyes became alive. Wendy… The tall model
from Diego Martin, western Trinidad who
placed her islands on the Universal map in
1998; the queen who young girls still look
up to; the book author and friend who gives
great advice; the mother who will do anything
for son and the classy lady who gives a new
meaning to a clutch and a stiletto… Everybody
loves her and even the critics.
And so between coffee and her favourite
confectionary (cake pops, her cheat treat), we
talk about her life. About her business journey
since her title in 1998, her profession as a
distinguished lawyer, how she fuses business
and legal savvy into her co-produced series,
Caribbean Next Top Model (CNTM (with her
sister Dionyse Fitzwilliam). A franchise of the
American Next top model Show, CNTM is