Jen Hunter came into the public eye when she participated in the TV series 'Make me a supermodel'. Jen who is a size 12-14, and classed as a plus size model, felt she received a lot of negative responses from those involved in the show and was determined to make her mark and prove them wrong.
She pledged to take something positive from the experience and began visiting schools to talk to pupils about her experience. “I think any teenager would prefer to listen to anybody other than their parents and teachers,” smiles Jen. “And when it’s someone who’s actually gone through it, then it holds a bit more merit.
“It’s a case of ‘this is where I’ve messed up, this is what’s gone right, take from it what you will’.
"The 26-year-old from Wigan admits that bucking the trend, especially in the fashion industry, isn’t always easy. But the level of criticism she received on Make Me A Supermodel only made her more resolute.
“I started to visit schools almost straight afterwards,” she says. “When I was on the show I felt as though I was being bullied a lot and the only time I’d ever felt that before was at school. So I thought, what I’ve done can be put to some use and so I spoke with my management team and we set about trying to find a way."
“One of my uncles works in a school and mentioned about going in to see pupils because a lot of them had got into this reality TV mentality. They’d started to think that they didn’t need a decent education; they could just go on Big Brother, or something like that, and earn their money that way. I was able to talk to them about how it really was."
“I love my job and I love the fact that because I had enough strength of character to hold my head high, it’s given me the opportunity to put some confidence into other children. That could be confidence in their work, in going into a particular industry, or just in themselves as people."
“Having that is important because there are times when you can’t just shout your mouth off – and then it comes back to how much respect you’ve got for yourself. You can’t let people make a fool of you."
“I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never let anyone affect my career negatively or undermine my confidence.”
Jen was approached by the Make Your Mark initiative, an organisation which aims to inspire young people and encourage them to pursue their goals, when working with schools. As the Lverpool ambassador for the organisation, Jen modelled designs by one of the winners of a national Make Your Mark in Fashion competition at London Fashion Week.
“I’m very proud of being a north west girl so when you can put something back it’s important to give your support and your time,” she says. “I think the initiative is wonderful – plus I get to be on stage at LFW which I’ve not done before.“At a size 12-14 I might not look like most of the other models here but I’m a little bit too stubborn and set in my ways to change to anyone else’s ideals. I was a very slim model when I first started but I found that I was a lot happier being my natural size and shape and I’m not going to force myself to be something I’m not.
“In future, depending on my working schedule, I’ll help Mark Your Mark whenever I can. I’ve got a four-year-old daughter and if there’s any way I can affect young people in a positive way then I will.”
Showing posts with label jen hunter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jen hunter. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Friday, 21 September 2007
Jen Hunter loses battle against fashion industry
Jen Hunter won the hearts of the British public in the television series 'Make Me A Supermodel' when she refused to lose weight for the judges even after constant pressure to do so.
Miss Hunter, who is 5ft 11in and weighs 11 stone was shocked by judges, including model Rachel Hunter, who described her as 'fat, lazy and greedy' while competing in the 2006 reality show.
Despite being voted the leading female by the public, Jen was not given a contract by chosen agency Select, who instead booked sub-zero Marianne Berglund - known as the 'walking skeleton'.
Cape Management, a mainstream agency who were impressed by her attitude and the impression she had on the public then stepped in to offer Miss Hunter work - the first size 12 on their books.
A happy ending? Unfortunately not.
Repeated knock-backs at catwalk castings have forced Jen to quit the mainstream agency to join one for plus size women - despite being below the average size.
Jen said: 'I'm grateful to the Cape Model agency for taking me on when other agencies wouldn't. They secured me some great contracts. However, they are a mainstream agency and when I went into castings I saw very few size 12 models and came up against the same old prejudice. I just didn't feel comfortable so I decided to change to Excel Models which is a plus size agency.'
Her decision to quit the agency proves yet again that the sector has some real work to do in order to accurately reflect the UK population. Despite increasing pressure to ban size-zero models for creating a bad impression for younger women, the average model size is still a size six to eight. In contrast to the average size of the UK woman, which is between a 14 to 16. Although models have always been thinner than average, 25 years ago the size difference was 8% compared to a current 23%, a very unrealistic figure.
Miss Hunter, who is 5ft 11in and weighs 11 stone was shocked by judges, including model Rachel Hunter, who described her as 'fat, lazy and greedy' while competing in the 2006 reality show.
Despite being voted the leading female by the public, Jen was not given a contract by chosen agency Select, who instead booked sub-zero Marianne Berglund - known as the 'walking skeleton'.
Cape Management, a mainstream agency who were impressed by her attitude and the impression she had on the public then stepped in to offer Miss Hunter work - the first size 12 on their books.
A happy ending? Unfortunately not.
Repeated knock-backs at catwalk castings have forced Jen to quit the mainstream agency to join one for plus size women - despite being below the average size.
Jen said: 'I'm grateful to the Cape Model agency for taking me on when other agencies wouldn't. They secured me some great contracts. However, they are a mainstream agency and when I went into castings I saw very few size 12 models and came up against the same old prejudice. I just didn't feel comfortable so I decided to change to Excel Models which is a plus size agency.'
Her decision to quit the agency proves yet again that the sector has some real work to do in order to accurately reflect the UK population. Despite increasing pressure to ban size-zero models for creating a bad impression for younger women, the average model size is still a size six to eight. In contrast to the average size of the UK woman, which is between a 14 to 16. Although models have always been thinner than average, 25 years ago the size difference was 8% compared to a current 23%, a very unrealistic figure.
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
REAL CURVES MODEL REFUSES SIZE '0' DIET IN HOPE OF HALTING FASHION INDUSTRIES UNHEALTHY OBSESSION
Jen Hunter has already proved her popularity with the general public through her success as the final woman in Five's show, Make Me A Supermodel. But she could never have guessed the waves she would make in the fashion industries current super skinny model debate.
Her vital stats are impressive: 6'0 tall and although she's just lost two inches from her waist, she weighs around 11 stone and remains a size 12.
The show's judges saw her as a thorn in their side and her size 12 figure was ridiculed on the programme. She was called stocky, lazy and greedy. But ordinary woman throughout the country were disgusted by this promotion of anorexia as judges drooled over the bony figure of fellow competitor Marianne Berglund, a US size zero, equivalent to a UK size four.
The nastiness reached its low-point when judge Tandy Anderson, boss of a model agency, laughed when Jen was knocked out. 'Originally I thought I'd been put in for a reason, I thought they were going to be positive about my size. Now I'm not sure whether I was put in as a token gesture'.
If that was the judges' plan it backfired. While Jen admits she felt depressed inside the house where the show was filmed, outside and unknown to her, public support was growing. When she was voted the winner in the female category, she couldn't believe it.
Now, with politicians, designers and high street stores following her lead, Jen has hit out at the TV show's presenter, Rachel Hunter, and says she hopes the changes being demanded of the industry aren't a flash in the pan.
She said: 'I'm hoping that what I have gone through has helped change beliefs and I am praying that it's going to carry on changing. It would be a shame for the size zero debate to be a flash in the pan, we wouldn't have achieved enough if it stopped now.'
After the show Jen had problems finding a mainstream modelling agency that would take on a size 12. 'There were 'plus size' agencies keen to sign me up but I thought that went against what I was trying to stand up for. Then I was really lucky to join Cape London, who are promoting me in a positive way and not as plus-size or anything else other than a fashion model.'
Most recently Jen was signed as the face of the new Nokia fashion phone and hopes to continue promoting healthy body image. I'm sure she will continue to play an important role in the current size debates.
Being more voluptuous definitely doesn't mean frumpy. Particularly when there is now so much fashion choice - such as this Gorgeous dress available at Curvety.com.
Her vital stats are impressive: 6'0 tall and although she's just lost two inches from her waist, she weighs around 11 stone and remains a size 12.
The show's judges saw her as a thorn in their side and her size 12 figure was ridiculed on the programme. She was called stocky, lazy and greedy. But ordinary woman throughout the country were disgusted by this promotion of anorexia as judges drooled over the bony figure of fellow competitor Marianne Berglund, a US size zero, equivalent to a UK size four.
The nastiness reached its low-point when judge Tandy Anderson, boss of a model agency, laughed when Jen was knocked out. 'Originally I thought I'd been put in for a reason, I thought they were going to be positive about my size. Now I'm not sure whether I was put in as a token gesture'.
If that was the judges' plan it backfired. While Jen admits she felt depressed inside the house where the show was filmed, outside and unknown to her, public support was growing. When she was voted the winner in the female category, she couldn't believe it.
Now, with politicians, designers and high street stores following her lead, Jen has hit out at the TV show's presenter, Rachel Hunter, and says she hopes the changes being demanded of the industry aren't a flash in the pan.
She said: 'I'm hoping that what I have gone through has helped change beliefs and I am praying that it's going to carry on changing. It would be a shame for the size zero debate to be a flash in the pan, we wouldn't have achieved enough if it stopped now.'
After the show Jen had problems finding a mainstream modelling agency that would take on a size 12. 'There were 'plus size' agencies keen to sign me up but I thought that went against what I was trying to stand up for. Then I was really lucky to join Cape London, who are promoting me in a positive way and not as plus-size or anything else other than a fashion model.'
Most recently Jen was signed as the face of the new Nokia fashion phone and hopes to continue promoting healthy body image. I'm sure she will continue to play an important role in the current size debates.
Being more voluptuous definitely doesn't mean frumpy. Particularly when there is now so much fashion choice - such as this Gorgeous dress available at Curvety.com.
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