supermodels that were "bullied"
Post-success, numerous models have revealed that before they were glamorous models, they played the role of the "ugly duckling" (you know, prior to turning into the beautiful swans we know them as today).
Although it's hard to believe, many claim to have been bullied for being tall, skinny or lanky or for having distinctive features -- the features, ironically, that propelled them to fame. Check out the gorgeous models who've left their childhood bullies far behind.
Lindsey Wixson
The 17-year old model has quickly risen to supermodel stardom due to her gap-toothed smile, full lips and babydoll face. But Lindsey has said, "I was actually always really self-conscious about my gap. In middle school, this group of girls were always trying to beat me up - they called my gap a parking lot... I felt skinny and tall. It was the worst time of my life. But I don't feel like that anymore. Modelling has really helped build my confidence."
Cindy Crawford
Cindy is the epitome of a Supermodel as the face of the 90s model craze, bringing the role of professional model to new heights. But Cindy has confessed that she was teased by other girls in high school for her modeling career.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Believe it or not, the British model-turned-actress, named the Hottest Woman on Earth by Maxim earlier this year, was actually told to lose weight when she first started modeling. What's more, it turns out that Rosie's most famous asset was the very thing that got her teased when she was younger. Rosie told GQ, "I got teased because of my lips...I used to get called 'T*t Lips' -- because I had big lips but no breasts. And then I was called 'Kipper Lips'." In addition to being bullied for her full pout by her classmates, the Victoria's Secret Angel added, "And boys didn't really go out with me." Oh, how much has changed.
Tyra Banks
According to AskMen.com, Tyra Banks revealed that she struggled with bullying as a kid. The supermodel said, "I used to be the freak at school. I was five foot nine and really skinny. I used to get picked on a lot. But now I can get my own back." There was a boy who used to say, "'I do not want that tall, skinny, braces mouth, big forehead girl anywhere near me.' I just broke down." But Tyra got the last laugh after she approached him post-fame saying, "'Antonio? It's me, Tyra, from school!' He was like, 'No way!' So that was nice. I got a little revenge there!"
Lara Stone
The October GQ cover girl admitted to the mag that she gets pretty shaken up when it comes to all the online haters. The Dutch beauty whose gapped-tooth smile is partly responsible for her rise to fame said, "It hurts when you're having a tough day and someone says, 'She's so f**king ugly I wouldn't let my dog near her...And 500 people 'liked' it!" We would certainly let our dogs near Lara
Chanel Iman
Newcomer model Chanel Iman rose to fame in the blink of an eye. At only 16 years old, she's the youngest model to be featured on the cover of Vogue! However things haven't always been so easy for the Victoria's Secret Angel. Chanel's had her fair share of bullying for being super skinny and tall, as most models are. But she's learned ignore the haters, saying, "I've always been judged and bullied for being tall and skinny my whole life. Early on I listened to others and failed to appreciate what God gave me until I at last excepted what an amazing blessing it was to love me for me."
Lily Cole
Supermodel Lily Cole was unsurprisingly bullied for her most well known asset as well, and the very trait that helped boost her career: her red hair. The model-turned-actress has admitted to being teased on the playground, saying, "When I was younger I definitely did face anti-ginger prejudice. As a child all teasing hurts, whether it's because you're fat or a different race or have red hair. I had enough comments from a couple of people to make it a sore point."
Crystal Renn
In an interview special with Ford Models, the "plus-size" model has spoken out about her eating disorders and pressure to be thin. Crystal claims she was bullied by the fashion industry to maintain her stick-thin figure. The model has said, "I feel pressure from -- more than anyplace -- from the public, and the media." Crystal is nowhere near "plus-size" these days, as the former plus-size model has lost a considerable amount of weight that she claims was unintentional. If you ask us, Renn looks just right.
Lea T
As the world's first transgendered supermodel, it's really no surprise that Lea T has taken her fair share of bullying. The model told Oprah, "I was hoping I was gay. I was like, ok, I'm gay, because for my family it's less painful....I wish I could accept my body as a man....I would be a straight guy, having a girlfriend and a family, daughters, married, a normal life, but it's something in your brain." But Lea has embraced her identity -- and so has the fashion world, putting Lea on runways, magazine covers (see above) and ad campaigns.
Kimora Lee Simmons
Long before her reality show career, the Baby Phat empire and her "Simmons" last name, Kimora Lee was a successful runway model. She, too, claims she was bullied by schoolmates for being tall, as she was a whopping five foot ten by the time she was 10 years old. She was also poked fun of for her half-Asian heritage and not fitting the African-American stereotype. She recalls, "All the black kids said, 'She thinks she's white!'" Now Kimora's got enough success to leave all the teasing behind.
xxx
ok bullying back then when some of these old hags were growing up is totally different than bullying these days t b h
Although it's hard to believe, many claim to have been bullied for being tall, skinny or lanky or for having distinctive features -- the features, ironically, that propelled them to fame. Check out the gorgeous models who've left their childhood bullies far behind.
Lindsey Wixson
The 17-year old model has quickly risen to supermodel stardom due to her gap-toothed smile, full lips and babydoll face. But Lindsey has said, "I was actually always really self-conscious about my gap. In middle school, this group of girls were always trying to beat me up - they called my gap a parking lot... I felt skinny and tall. It was the worst time of my life. But I don't feel like that anymore. Modelling has really helped build my confidence."
Cindy Crawford
Cindy is the epitome of a Supermodel as the face of the 90s model craze, bringing the role of professional model to new heights. But Cindy has confessed that she was teased by other girls in high school for her modeling career.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Believe it or not, the British model-turned-actress, named the Hottest Woman on Earth by Maxim earlier this year, was actually told to lose weight when she first started modeling. What's more, it turns out that Rosie's most famous asset was the very thing that got her teased when she was younger. Rosie told GQ, "I got teased because of my lips...I used to get called 'T*t Lips' -- because I had big lips but no breasts. And then I was called 'Kipper Lips'." In addition to being bullied for her full pout by her classmates, the Victoria's Secret Angel added, "And boys didn't really go out with me." Oh, how much has changed.
Tyra Banks
According to AskMen.com, Tyra Banks revealed that she struggled with bullying as a kid. The supermodel said, "I used to be the freak at school. I was five foot nine and really skinny. I used to get picked on a lot. But now I can get my own back." There was a boy who used to say, "'I do not want that tall, skinny, braces mouth, big forehead girl anywhere near me.' I just broke down." But Tyra got the last laugh after she approached him post-fame saying, "'Antonio? It's me, Tyra, from school!' He was like, 'No way!' So that was nice. I got a little revenge there!"
Lara Stone
The October GQ cover girl admitted to the mag that she gets pretty shaken up when it comes to all the online haters. The Dutch beauty whose gapped-tooth smile is partly responsible for her rise to fame said, "It hurts when you're having a tough day and someone says, 'She's so f**king ugly I wouldn't let my dog near her...And 500 people 'liked' it!" We would certainly let our dogs near Lara
Chanel Iman
Newcomer model Chanel Iman rose to fame in the blink of an eye. At only 16 years old, she's the youngest model to be featured on the cover of Vogue! However things haven't always been so easy for the Victoria's Secret Angel. Chanel's had her fair share of bullying for being super skinny and tall, as most models are. But she's learned ignore the haters, saying, "I've always been judged and bullied for being tall and skinny my whole life. Early on I listened to others and failed to appreciate what God gave me until I at last excepted what an amazing blessing it was to love me for me."
Lily Cole
Supermodel Lily Cole was unsurprisingly bullied for her most well known asset as well, and the very trait that helped boost her career: her red hair. The model-turned-actress has admitted to being teased on the playground, saying, "When I was younger I definitely did face anti-ginger prejudice. As a child all teasing hurts, whether it's because you're fat or a different race or have red hair. I had enough comments from a couple of people to make it a sore point."
Crystal Renn
In an interview special with Ford Models, the "plus-size" model has spoken out about her eating disorders and pressure to be thin. Crystal claims she was bullied by the fashion industry to maintain her stick-thin figure. The model has said, "I feel pressure from -- more than anyplace -- from the public, and the media." Crystal is nowhere near "plus-size" these days, as the former plus-size model has lost a considerable amount of weight that she claims was unintentional. If you ask us, Renn looks just right.
Lea T
As the world's first transgendered supermodel, it's really no surprise that Lea T has taken her fair share of bullying. The model told Oprah, "I was hoping I was gay. I was like, ok, I'm gay, because for my family it's less painful....I wish I could accept my body as a man....I would be a straight guy, having a girlfriend and a family, daughters, married, a normal life, but it's something in your brain." But Lea has embraced her identity -- and so has the fashion world, putting Lea on runways, magazine covers (see above) and ad campaigns.
Kimora Lee Simmons
Long before her reality show career, the Baby Phat empire and her "Simmons" last name, Kimora Lee was a successful runway model. She, too, claims she was bullied by schoolmates for being tall, as she was a whopping five foot ten by the time she was 10 years old. She was also poked fun of for her half-Asian heritage and not fitting the African-American stereotype. She recalls, "All the black kids said, 'She thinks she's white!'" Now Kimora's got enough success to leave all the teasing behind.
xxx
ok bullying back then when some of these old hags were growing up is totally different than bullying these days t b h
although side-note, people ARE intimidated. there was a guy I worked with for about 4 years who only recently admitted he was intimidated by me when we first met! and he's tall, too! who knows hah
Now I embrace my hight, I prefer being tall than short, but still ppl point it out, and they make me feel self-conscious.
there's def good and bad sides to it. it always surprises me how people can be such dicks about it though
A day in the life of a 5'10" girl (really, only my experience, so if there are any other tall girls with different experiences than me, please don't think I'm trying to speak for you. Plus, you know the shit with the pants is true):
- Go jeans shopping and only find stuff either way too short, or the "tall" version which is so long you HAVE to wear heels. UGH.
- Safety pin pants until you can find someone to hem them/hang up any pants for which you need to go ask your mom to let the hem out, and since you don't live with her, they just sit in your closet, taunting you while you choose to go with a skirt, again, just because it's less complicated.
- Go grocery shopping and get stopped at least once out of every half dozen or so trips to get things off of shelves for people (this happens way less to me than it used to, but I also wear my iPod shopping now and have perma-scowl on my face so maybe I just look unfriendly).
- See a cute guy on public transit, and mentally plot out how you would look standing next to him with heels on, whether or not it would be too awkward, and then determining it would be probably ok and attempt eye contact and a smile but by then he's gotten off the train.
- Have people be intimidated by you without even trying, so a lot of people give you the cold shoulder.
- HIT YOUR HEAD ON SHIT ALL THE TIME. Cabinet doors, the roof of your car, low-hanging lamps. etc.
I wish I was about 5'6 or 5'7.
My goal in life is to have my future house built with the counters and cabinets all about 3 inches lower than average...ahh...
and this is coming from a girl who was fat when she was little.
/cool story
sometimes i wish i was tall enough to at least have a chance at modeling, it certainly seems like an experience. but i wouldn't do it as a career, though.
Being short and fat, yes. Being a gine, no.
i'm just trying to remember what my english friend told me.
Maybe I'm just profiling, but the vast majority of ginger kids I come across are terrors.
Now I have also heard the same thing said about the Norse invaders, rather than the French: red hair was supposedly a Norse trait, so people with red hair were seen as a constant reminder of the Norsemen raping and pillaging their way thru the land.
Idk why anyone would make fun of red hair.
I try to be very "haters gonna hate" about it but seriously, I can't even explain how frustrating it is.