03/07/2015
H&M model Jennie Runk on her plus-size life
H&M’s newest star was volunteering at a Missouri Petsmart, wearing too-short sweatpants and no makeup when she was discovered by a modeling scout, just 14 years old.
Since then, Jennie Runk has fast-tracked from awkward high schooler to fashion fame as the hottest plus-size model of the moment.
But her journey had a rocky start.
“Gym class was a nightmare,” Runk, 24, revealed in a first-person article for BBC News. “While the thin girls were wearing shorts, I was wearing sweatpants because my thighs were the size of their waists.”
“I also had thick, curly hair that only drew more attention to me, hiding behind braces and beige, wire-rimmed glasses,” she wrote.
Runk, who grew up in Georgia and Missouri and moved to New York two years ago, described herself as “the quiet type who reads books, plays video games and might be a little too obsessed with her cat.”
Her sudden fame, prompted by the virally successful H&M swimwear campaign, encouraged Runk to reach out to young women struggling with body issues.
“Having finally survived it, I feel compelled to show girls who are going through the same thing that it’s acceptable to be different,” Runk wrote. “You will grow out of this awkwardness fabulously. Just focus on the best possible version of yourself and quit worrying about your thighs, there’s nothing wrong with them.”
Fashion fans applauded Runk — a size 14 — and H&M for the realistic but s*xy shots in the brand’s recent catalog.