De Swarte was born in Lewisham, South London to a Jewish mother and a Jamaican father and grew up in Brixton.
[4] But her career as a runway model stopped abruptly after she fell down repeatedly and removed her shoes while walking for the Gucci Fall/Winter 2002 Ready-to-Wear fashion show, where the catwalk was covered in faux sheepskin.
[5][2] Turning to television, her TV credits include presenting celebrity gossip show Dirty Digest for E4, The Fashion Show, a 10-episode mini-series with George Lamb and Abbey Clancy which aired on ITV2 from September to November 2008, hosting the live broadcast of Arthur's Day celebrations, and being a talking head on BBC's The Noughties.. Was That It?
In 2015, she began reporting for Vice America doing a range of documentaries covering issues from FGM to female magicians, as well as the Emmy-nominated series Woman, produced by Gloria Steinem for Viceland USA.
[1] 2024 saw the release of de Swarte's self-written sitcom, Spent, on BBC Two, which was loosely based on her own experiences in the modelling industry.