Bankrate: Why is your charity work and giving away millions of dollars so important to you?
Sarah Ferguson: Because charity work is a way for me to understand how lucky I am. You know what? There are people all over the world who aren't as lucky as me and I keep being reminded of that. It makes me go, "Come on, Sarah, pull yourself together and get out there."
Bankrate: I know you were a paid spokeswoman for Weight Watchers for 12 years. And you have admitted to comfort eating in the past.
Sarah Ferguson: Past? (laughs). Oh, heavens. When I allow that naughty person -- stress -- to come into my life, then I normally eat, then I put on weight, then I get more stressed because I put on more weight. So it's that old vicious circle. I am human, and I tend to let stress beat me sometimes. And I think I was the longest-running paid (spokeswoman) that Weight Watchers has had.
Bankrate: How do you teach your daughters to have healthy body images?
Sarah Ferguson: It all comes from your role models. If your role models think it's cool to be size zero, you're likely to think so as well. We see models who look as though the dust of the wind might blow them off the catwalk. We need to emphasize that curves can be healthy. I vowed that my daughters would not share my difficulties with weight. We talk honestly at home, and I make sure that weight and body image are kept in healthy perspective.
Bankrate: You look fabulous now -- vibrant and rejuvenated. When was it you felt comfortable in your own skin?
Sarah Ferguson: I think probably now, and I'm into my 50th year. I think it's taken me this long to feel comfortable in my own skin. I was in the Ritz Hotel today because I've been working here all day, and a man came up to me and said, "I used to run a modeling agency," and I said, "OK." And he said, "Here's my card," and I said, "Yeah." And he said, "Some people love redheads and some hate them, but I love redheads, and if I had my modeling agency still, I'd sign you up." I was so very pleased. … So I suppose now, I have more confidence and can just be who I am.
Bankrate: What part of your day would you be glad to leave behind?
Sarah Ferguson: Exercise (laughs).
Bankrate: What would you say is your No. 1 fear or insecurity in life?
Sarah Ferguson: The size of my bottom (laughs).
Bankrate: Do you put aside fears and insecurities to get through the day?
Sarah Ferguson: Yeah, I do. I think fears come up every minute of the day: fears that you're not going to manage, fears that you got it wrong (and) fears that you're not the person who you really think you are. And, you just have to know that everybody has fears. I used to think that I was the only one who had these thoughts and now I realize, through a lot of hard knocks, that actually we all have these fears.