A plus-size woman from Mississippi has recently proven her critics wrong as a modelling agency signed her and hailed her as the biggest professional plus-size model in the business.
After years of trying, size 22 mother Tess Holliday, 29, was signed by MiLK Model Management to their plus-size arm called Curves. The announcement was made on Jan. 22.
While plus-size models are typically size 8 to 16 and at least 5 feet 8 inches, Holliday stands 5'5" and weighs 260 pounds making her the shortest and largest model in the modelling agency's portfolio.
"I feel like it's breaking ground," Holliday told The New York Daily News. "This is a milestone. I never could have imagined that I could be here."
The plus-size model denied being lazy as she said she never sits down. She said she is out doing errands and going to meetings if she is not shooting twelve hours a day.
While growing up in a small town in Laurel, Holliday was a victim of bullying for years. The abuse did not stop during her adult life as she suffered would continue through. She said it took her a very long time to get over things that had happened to her during the vital years of his life.
Holliday was a teenager when travelled to Atlanta for a model casting, but she was too big and too short. While the rest of her friends and family thought she was crazy, the mother of a nine-year-old son said her mother always encouraged her.
In 2011, Holliday was discovered online by A&E and chose her to be the face of the documentary series titled "Heavy." She has since modeled for Black Cat Bikinis, Domino Dollhouse, Evil Pawn Jewelry, Jessica Louise Clothing and SWAK, among others.