Plus-Size Model Tess Holliday Lands People Mag Cover
Plus size model Tess Holliday has landed the cover of People magazine’s Body Issue.
Dubbed the world’s first size 22 supermodel, the 29 year old, 5-foot-5-inch, 280 pound model became an Internet sensation in January for being the biggest model ever signed by a top agency, U.K. based Milk. Her story is unique as she wanted to be a model since childhood trying to get into plus-size modelling since she was 15 years old but faced many obstacles early on including relentless bullying in school.
In her interview with People Holliday discusses her struggle for acceptance as a model in a skinny-obsessed world. “After leaving school, I went to many discouraging auditions where I was told I was too short and too fat to be a model.” But she pushed forward and her resilience is her reason for her success. “Thanks to the power of the Internet, I was able to create my own destiny.” she says. “I started posting photos of myself in my underwear, then in bathing suits and other clothes that I liked but weren’t considered suitable for large and curvy women. Soon I was on my way. “
Holliday, who is based in Los Angeles and was named one of the world’s top plus size models by Vogue Italia. She was also the face of the A&E TV show Heavy. Since then she’s gone on to model for brands such as Domino Dollhouse and Jessica Louise Clothing. She is also the founder of the hashtag-driven movement #effyourbeautystandards which she started after dealing with online bullies who berated her size. The successful movement encourages women to celebrate their bodies and sticks two fingers up at standard beauty ideals.
Holliday is also known as Tess Munster but has been using her fiance Nick Holliday’s last name professionally since January. With more than 826,000 Facebook fans and more than 645,000 Instagram followers Holliday is proving that beauty comes in every size and is already in demand across the globe. This week, she proudly revealed a gorgeous set of black and white photographs from her first official agency shoot.
People’s June issue is set to hit newsstands Friday, May 22.
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