Upon arriving in Miami, she found herself amidst "an ocean of girls just like me", she told Forbes in 2012. She relocated to New York, living in a rundown apartment on the Lower East Side alongside fellow models.

According to the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association, she lived in this red building during the 1990s with her first husband, Ric Pipino, who had a hair salon downstairs.

A Facebook post from 2021 said: "This place is not and was not a 'nice' apartment and hasn't been renovated since 1974 when my landlord's father bought it. Heidi gave the wood trim a 'shabby chic' sanding job, which survives to this day. I kind of hate it."

Inside the life and homes of Germany's top model