Riley Ticotin is at the forefront of the body positive movement. The voluptuous model became the first Playboy Playmate of her size to grace the pages of the iconic glossy, sending a strong message to the public — curvy is here to stay.
The Puerto Rican pinup is embracing her body but it was not always easy for her to do so. Ticotin was never a size zero and there was pressure for her to lose weight, she told Fox News in an interview published Tuesday.
The 26-year-old started modeling at age 15 and got her break after submitting photos to an agency, which immediately signed her. However, like many agencies at the time, they expected their models to be rake thin. Ticotin was curvier than many of the other girls and was dropped when she "never got skinny enough."
She refused to let the setback get to her.
"I was in school and I was focused on getting my education," she said. "Modeling just felt supplementary so it didn't feel like the end of the world for me. So I just dealt with it."
Ticotin's refusal to lose weight lost her one agency but she was snapped up by another, which continues to represent her today. Now Ticotin is a role model, encouraging young girls to embrace their bodies.
"I don't think we should be labeling people by size. I think that's part of the problem," she said.
"I do get frustrated though that sometimes I feel the need to clarify when I say I'm a model and they're like, Oh. And I'm like, no, I'm a plus model. That does frustrate me a bit. But at the end of the day, as far as I'm concerned, as far as everyone goes, we're all just models."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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