Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Plus-Sized Model Renn: I Risked My Life To Be Thin

She finds success by scrapping the diet

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 8, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

(Newser) – Crystal Renn’s success as a model didn’t come when she reached her ideal weight after a grueling regimen. It arrived when she came to her senses after that regimen and decided to be a plus-size model at age 18. She was never going to “meet the weight standards of a traditional fashion model,” she tells ABC News. At the time, she thought she would “lose my dream” of gracing the cover of Vogue; now, as a size 12 weighing about 170 pounds, the 23-year-old has hit the cover of its international editions four times.

“I ended up almost risking my life,” says Renn, who's plugging a memoir called Hungry. “My body started to rebel.” At one point, she stood 5’9” and weighed just 95 pounds, which still wasn’t good enough. But when she decided to just be herself, “my life and everything about me finally flourished.” And now she sees her figure for what it is: an asset. “It's being individual that works in what I do,” she says. “You will be set apart from the rest.”

The cover of Hungry A Young Model's Story of Appetite,Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, by Crystal Renn.
The cover of "Hungry" A Young Model's Story of Appetite,Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves", by Crystal Renn.   (AP Photo)
Crystal Renn in her early career.
Crystal Renn in her early career.   (AP Photo)
French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier on the catwalk with model Crystal Renn in 2005.
French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier on the catwalk with model Crystal Renn in 2005.   (AP Photo)
A cover of Hungry A Young Model's Story of Appetite,Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, by Crystal Renn.
A cover of "Hungry" A Young Model's Story of Appetite,Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves", by Crystal Renn.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
Snarfeh
Sep 9, 2009 12:58 PM CDT
She looks a damn sight better with soft curves than with bony angles, for sure...
riffran
Sep 9, 2009 10:52 AM CDT
egads remember Kate Moss, Twiggy?.....no no no no..I prefer a real woman
BeatBlaster
Sep 9, 2009 8:09 AM CDT
Well said!

More Newser Stories

Crystal Renn: Why I Lost the Weight

What Happened to Crystal Renn's Curves?

Tyra Banks Launches Plus-Size Model Contest

The Rise of the Plus-Size Model

V Mag's Plus-Size Models: Bold or Too Much?


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne