Josephine Skriver on Career, Entrepreneurship, Money, and Motherhood

“When I started, they told you that it's a very short career.”

The first thing Josephine Skriver learned about modeling was a warning: the clock is always ticking, so enjoy it while it lasts. For many, that might have sparked anxiety. For Josephine, it lit a creative fire.

But she set her sights on more than outlasting the timer -  she wanted to know what she’d stand for when she did.

Today, Josephine Skriver’s career reads like a highlight reel - Victoria’s Secret, Maybelline, YSL, Chanel. But alongside a decade on global runways, she’s built a life anchored in purpose, using her platform to expand opportunities for others.

Breaking Money Taboos: Why Transparency Matters

For most of Josephine’s modeling career, talking pay was off limits. Rates were whispered about, if at all. The message was clear: stay quiet, stay grateful, don’t rock the boat. But slowly, Josephine and her peers started to break the silence.

“I would say the biggest change in my career was actually when us models, we've always been told, 'Oh, don't compare what you're getting from a client. Don't talk pay.’ And we started doing that…we all ended up getting paid more because there was a value raised.”

Transparency became its own rebellion - not about competition, but community. As Female Invest co-founder Camilla Falkenberg noted, “The only people who win by not sharing your salaries are the employer.”

‍For Josephine, lifting the curtain on pay wasn’t just self-interest. It was a way to make the industry fairer for the next woman in line.

The Art of Careful Risk: Josephine’s Money Playbook

Josephine’s financial journey has always been cautious, careful with money and deliberate with commitments. “I was raised with a mom where you save everything. And then my aunt was also, "Please don't be the richest person in the graveyard." That's like [saying], "Also have fun while you live.”  

When she moved to the United States, she faced a tougher landscape to build financial security - one that forced her to face her gaps in knowledge.

“In America, you have to do everything yourself. Taxes aren’t automatically taken out of your paycheck, so you have to learn how to pay them. You need to put money aside, save for your pension, and manage everything on your own. I was very overwhelmed and nervous about making mistakes, so I hired a business manager,” she explains.

“He’s been patient, teaching me, ‘This is money you can’t afford to lose.’ We also discuss investing, because if you just let your money sit, it loses value to inflation.”

Her portfolio mirrors that balance: steady by design, built on real estate and index funds rather than flashy bets. But as her confidence grew, she realised that security alone isn’t the goal. Looking back, she sometimes wishes she’d taken a few more calculated risks, or asked for money advice sooner.

Today, Josephine treats money like a conversation rather than a finish line. She learned that building wealth isn’t just about saving; it’s also about trusting, living fully, and sharing what you know.

Experts Are Made in the Arena

Over time, Josephine found that growth doesn’t come from getting everything right. Curiosity gets you farther: every awkward question, every financial misstep, became part of her education.

What started as self-doubt became her advantage. Asking for help become a practice, a way to stay agile and grow in an industry where change is the only constant.

“I think my business manager is also slightly annoyed with me,” she laughs. “Sometimes I show up once a week… ‘Explain. Why? I don’t understand. Why am I doing this? This feels weird.’”

By talking openly to mentors she slowly grew more confident, learning to read the industry’s patterns and trust her judgment. Her nerve to chase down advice and learn out loud became a superpower.

Because there is no shame in being a beginner.

Not understanding became an opportunity, not a flaw.

Crossing Cultures: Motherhood Without a Net

Josephine’s world was rocked when she became a mother in America. Not only by the new role, but by the profound clash of systems.

In Denmark, parents get up to a year of paid leave, affordable public childcare, and universal child allowances.

Each new mom is “placed” in a local mothers’ group -  networks built specifically for swapping advice, venting frustrations, and building community during the hardest year. It’s not just about help; it’s about never having to struggle alone.

In the U.S., Josephine found herself startled by the absence of a safety net.

“There's no guaranteed maternity leave. There's no guaranteed healthcare. There's no guaranteed…safety of having a kid…It's not a system that's very supportive, especially not if you're a working mom. So you start out with a culture that needs work to come first, which means it makes sense that they're trying to make your kid independent [from] day one.”

She saw how parenting techniques like “cry-it-out” are often taught because parents believe independence is necessary when time, leave, and help are in short supply.

In Denmark, co-sleeping and responsiveness are common, backed by a web of support that makes parents feel safe.

Becoming a mother in the U.S. gave Josephine deep empathy for parents doing their best, in a system that doesn’t have their back. It's not about who loves their kids more; it's about whether you have the collective support that allows you to show up the way you want to.

For Josephine, safety isn’t coddling - it’s what gives people the mental and emotional bandwidth to innovate, care, and be generous.  Her point isn’t to criticize families; it’s to notice how systems shape choices, and how support expands what’s possible.

Leading By Lifting Others

Josephine knows firsthand that success is never a solo act, and strength is amplified by sharing.

She channels her influence into causes that widen the circle of support, investing back into the kind of foundations that shaped her own beginnings.

Since 2021 Josephine is an ambassador for Plan International Denmark, a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and achieving equality for girls.

But before stepping up publicly, she made sure she understood the mission inside and out: “I actually worked with them for a full year before I went in and [became] a voice, because I wanted to understand - again, me being very cautious - about everything.”

Her work with Plan has took her to Uganda, bringing her face-to-face with girls whose leadership is stifled only by a lack of opportunity.

‍“I really saw where directly the money went to… it was obviously food and things, but it was more[so] education, [and gaining] more rights.”

She met with girls who “met Plan when they were six or seven, and are now speaking at United Nations for their female rights and education. Obviously not every single child has that fire in them, but they now gave the option.”

That experience changed the way Josephine saw her role - and the true meaning of support.

‍“It's not about me helping, it's about me lending support because they can and will do it by themselves. They're not here for pity. They're not here to say, 'Oh, do this for me.' It's very much like, 'No, no, I'm capable. I'm very good at what I'm doing. I just wasn't born under the same circumstances - and I need a little push.”

Josephine fundraises, collaborates on creative campaigns (like her collaboration with Mads Nørgaard and his signature #101 T-shirt), and uses every corner of her platform to bring attention to girls’ education and rights worldwide.

For Josephine, giving back isn’t an afterthought or performative act- it’s central to the foundation that lets any of us rise.

Want to stand with Josephine and support girls’ futures? Join her by donating to Plan International Denmark here.

Why Josephine Skriver Inspires Us

Today, Josephine is a global face for Chanel and Saint Laurent, fronts major beauty campaigns for Maybelline, and spent years on the Victoria’s Secret runway. Her staying power in fashion is no accident: she’s built her success by betting on herself, but also betting on a wider circle.

Josephine didn’t wait until she felt ready. She asked questions early and used every hard-won lesson as a building block for something bigger. She reminds us that we don’t have to have all the answers:

To learn, we have to be okay with being new at something.

With every move, she’s built her own foundation while helping others create theirs, proving that individual strength depends on collective support: we can’t rise until we feel safe enough to try.

For anyone chasing lasting success, Josephine’s lesson is simple: start with sturdy roots, build outward into community, and never stop reaching back to help someone else up.