Plus-size Model - Plus-size Celebrities

Plus-size Celebrities

Celebrities who wear clothing larger than a standard U.S. size 8 have increasingly been attracting endorsement contracts as advertisers seek to extend size-acceptance into the film, TV and music industries, and/or make use of their family or other connections. Please note that women who have lost weight, dropping below a U.S. size 8, since gaining popularity do not form part of this entry, nor do women unrepresented by model agents.

Joanne Borgella was a semi-finalist on the seventh season of American Idol, and is currently represented by the Wilhelmina Models agency as a plus-size model. Borgella was the winner of the first cycle of Mo'Nique's Fat Chance plus-size model search on the Oxygen TV network.

Liris Crosse first became famous after appearing in music videos for notable hip-hop artists including Jay-Z and Nelly and appearing in African American magazines such as Essence, Jet, King, Vibe and XXL. In addition, she has appeared in music videos for mainstream music artists including 98 Degrees and Jennifer Lopez. As a model, her magazine appearances included UK Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Grace, MODE, Vogue Italia, YM and Seventeen magazine. Liris has been photographed by notable photographers such as Walter Chin. She also appeared in campaigns for urban designers Karl Kani and Pelle Pelle. Liris also walked in runway shows for BET's Rip the Runway and Lane Bryant. Her acting roles have included John Singleton's Baby Boy, The Best Man, The Inside Man, The Wire, and Law and Order's Special Victim's Unit. Her current model agency is Dorothy Combs Models.

Velvet D’Amour most notably appeared as the only larger sized model in Jean-Paul Gaultier's 2007 Spring/Summer prêt-à-porter show, and recently appeared as a judge on the US Oxygen Channel's Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance television program. D'Amour also featured in the title role of Avida, a 2006 French film selected for the 2006 Cannes and 2007 Tribeca festivals. In 2010 she was a contestant in the TV reality series "La Ferme des Célébrités 3/Celebrity Farm, Season 3", filmed in South Africa.

Mia Amber Davis appeared in a feature role in the cinema-released 2000 comedy movie Road Trip as Rhonda. Since her film appearance, Davis had been working as a model in New York and appeared on TV to speak on the issues of being plus-sized, and on self-esteem, as well as appearing on the Tyra Banks talk show dealing with the media's response to photographs of Banks in a swimsuit. Davis died at 35 years of age on 10 May 2011.

Toccara Jones is a model and television personality. She was a contestant on the third cycle of the reality TV series America's Next Top Model (ANTM), and in connection with her career in mainstream plus-size modeling has also found a niche in interviews and related photography in lifestyle magazine speaking about self-esteem. Jones featured in Vogue Italia in 2008 in a fur advertorial photographed by Steven Meisel.

Dana Owens, aka Queen Latifah is an actress and music artist, and appears in ongoing U.S. advertising for CoverGirl cosmetics. Owens is also the figurehead of the Curvation company's range of plus-size apparel and intimates, and the associated "Project Curvation", an awards program championing confidence in women.

Pollyanna McIntosh most notably appeared in the Pirelli Calendar for December 2004, photographed by Nick Knight. She also appeared as a UK size 14 in a UK Vogue December 2003 16-page fashion editorial. McIntosh was named 2004's 'Model of the Year by UK maggazine The Face based on her Vogue UK editorial and Pirelli calendar appearance. She has also worked with renown photographer David Bailey for Evans stores, and appeared in his book entitled, Bailey's Democracy. Pollyanna still models occasionally(current representation is Models1 in London), but is now mainly working as an actress, director, producer and screenwriter. Notable film roles include lead roles in controversial horror film The Woman and The 9 Lives Of Mara, as well as a role in The Offspring, a prequel to The Woman.

Christina Schmidt appeared in seasons 1-3 of the popular Canadian cable TV series, Degrassi: The Next Generation as a plus-size model and is a unique example of the model/celebrity concept. Schmidt's character gained such popularity among the show's youthful audience that she was hired to model for plus-size clothing company Torrid and is now represented by the Wilhelmina Models 10/20 division in New York.

Maiysha Simpson is a successful Ford model and singer, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Wanna Be, taken from the 2008 album, This Much is True.

Anna Nicole Smith formerly known as Vickie Lynn Marshall (née Hogan) (28 November 1967 – 8 February 2007), and Vickie Smith, before settling on Anna Nicole Smith as her moniker, was an American model, actress and television personality. Smith first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. Soon after, she signed with Elite Model Management. Smith became very well known after appearing in Guess campaigns in 1992, becoming the first plus-size model used in a Guess! campaign. The Guess campaign was also one of the clothing brand's most successful campaigns. She was also photographed by Peter Lindbergh for the cover of German Marie Claire 1994, and appeared in his book Peter Lindbergh Untitled 116. The shoot for the cover and editorial in German Marie Claire was also featured in a documentary on Peter Lindbergh. Smith was also photographed by notable photographers including David La Chapelle. She also modeled for H & M's December 1993 lingerie campaign in print advertising and billboards. Anna Nicole also appeared in controversial advertising for Lane Bryant, which was banned by newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal for showing too much cleavage. Smith also walked in several Lane Bryant runway shows. Anna also modeled in TV and print advertising for Conair in 1993.

Mia Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith singer Steve Tyler and Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler and half-sister of actress Liv Tyler, began plus-size modeling in 1998 at age 19 after being discovered by a talent scout for Lane Bryant's V Girl advertising campaign. She was represented by Wilhelmina Models and worked for companies seeking to associate themselves with her rock'n roll lifestyle and aesthetic. Tyler appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine in January 2002, Glamour Magazine in May 2002, Vogue in its annual "Shape Issue" in 2003 and on the cover of Figure Magazine in May 2006. She also appeared on the cover of Flare in 2002 and in Grace, Marie Claire, Mode, Seventeen, Teen and YM. Tyler has worked with notable photographers such as Franceso Scavullo, Steven Meisel and Max Abadian. Mia also walked in runways in New York and Paris, including several Lane Bryant shows. She was also a VJ for MTV' House of Style. Tyler launched her own clothing line, titled Revolution 1228, in February 2009. In 2008, Tyler released her autobiography Creating Myself.