The supermodel will celebrate the landmark birthday in May and is shocked she has made it so far. She has battled so many issues during her life, including problems with anger, self-esteem and alcohol abuse, she genuinely believed she would be dead long before she reached her fourth decade. "I thought I`d never actually make this birthday," she revealed. "I`ve had times when it was hard for me to look at myself in the mirror, because I didn`t really like who I was. "The period from 1998 until 2005 was very difficult. I had to work out what was important - what I wanted to change and what I wasn`t happy with. "Anger wasn`t the only one of my issues - I have lots of them. I had to get clean and stay in the AA programme. I understand what keeps me on the right path. I don`t go every single day; I just go when I need to and I have my sponsor." Naomi is famous for her fiery temper, which has seen her sentenced to community service for assault twice. She admits she has made a lot of mistakes in her life, but is now "maturing" and is ready to take responsibility for them. "I`m human, I make mistakes, but I`ve come clean on them all. I don`t deny them," she told British newspaper The Daily Mail. "I`ve taken the heat and felt highly embarrassed by a lot of them. I`m not proud of the things I`ve done and the incidents that have happened in my life, and I would never say I was. But I did something about it. I`m not above learning lessons. "I▓ve matured. I stop myself from getting tired and burnt out. I want a quieter life today. I`ve been through the party scene. You get older and your life changes. Things that matter to you when you`re 20 don`t matter so much when you`re approaching 40."