HSG

Recently--on February 14th--it was my great pleasure to meet Click XL goddess Kailee O'Sullivan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, for a chat about modelling, about life, and about everything else under the sun.

It was a fascinating conversation, and it couldn't have occurred in a more ideal location. Interviewing Kailee was like sitting face to face with a living work of art. The experience made perfectly comprehensible to me the desire of artists throughout history to immortalize full-figured feminine beauty in painting and sculpture.

Kailee was remarkably candid, and opened up not only about her career, but also about her own personality. Over the course of our discussion I discovered that it was just as exciting to be exposed to the nuances of Kailee's intellect and character as it was to gaze upon her extraordinary beauty.

She also managed to shock me repeatedly throughout the day.

In the transcript of this meeting, posted below, fans are sure to learn everything that they ever wanted to know about Kailee, from her evaluation of her own beauty, to her relationship to food, to her taste in music, to--yes, indeed--what she looks for in a significant other.

The write-up is divided into two parts. The first, linked below, focusses on Kailee the model--how she got started, and where she sees the industry heading.

The second part, which will be posted in a few days, is the fun section. It explores Kailee's personality, and ends off in a special way that takes full advantage of the venue in which our chat took place.

The profile comes with numerous illustrations (many of which can be clicked and viewed at a larger size) and video clips, as well as live audio excerpts from the interview itself, which enable fans to hear Kailee's words for themselves.

So without further ado, here is the account of a very pleasant afternoon spent in the company of one of the most beautiful of all plus-size models.

Modelling for Anna Scholz, Spring/Summer 2009:

- Click to read Kailee O'Sullivan profile

Kaitlynn

Thank you so much for posting this! I just finished reading Kailee's profile, and I LOVED it. She's exactly how I always imagined she would be from her pictures. She comes across are very sweet and endearing- incredibly nice, but also extremely interesting. She's also very, very intelligent- well beyond her years. Plus, seems completely genuine, not like she's putting on a media front but is speaking right from the heart, openly and honestly. I love that.

For me the aspect of the profile that really stood out was Kailee's personal journey from self-consciousness to confidence. I think SO many women can relate to that. I never imagined that someone as pretty as she is would ever have the concerns about her appearance that she did when she was younger. That makes her so relatable. (It also shows just how terrible the effect of the media can be, even one someone who you'd think would be immune to it.) But that made it all the more gratifying to read how she overcame those concerns and now has so much real confidence, that she finally learned to really appreciate her own beauty. That makes her inspirational!

I absolutely love the moments when she admits that she really does look gorgeous or "princess like" in her pictures.

And her observations are extremely insightful. I love when she says

She really is an incredible role model for girls today, inspiring both through her ideas and through her beauty.

M. Lopez

I agree 100% about how inspiring Kailee is. This is the most enjoyable profile I've yet read on this site. Kailee sounds like a really wonderful person. I loved everything she said.

I especially appreciated how strongly she comes down against dieting and body-diminishment, and how openly and enthusiastically she describes her love of food. She speaks about it with real pleasure:


It's so encouraging to have a model saying these things! I wish many girls, especially younger girls, would read her words and take them to heart. Then maybe they could experience the transformation that Kailee did and learn to love and appreciate themselves as much as they should, and "relax about food," as she said.

Hannah

I too found myself very inspired by Kailee from this profile. Not only is she amazingly pretty, but she has all the right ideas.

I really like the fact that she "gets it" when it comes to models and sizes, and why faux-plus models are such a turn-off for customers. Kailee is right on the money when she says:

It's so true! I always wish plus-size models were fuller-figured, and Kailee is on the right track with this.


I'm also in agreement with her about how important it is for women to accept their soft, natural appearance, rather than torturing themselves into an artificial look in a gym prison:
Yes to both! That's why certainly Kailee's Glamour page was so popular. Her figure looks very soft in that image, and very natural. It's no coincidence that the most beautiful models are also the ones with the softest-looking body types (Shannon Marie, Kelsey, Kailee, etc.). It's a more feminine and beautiful look, and it's more relatable too.

Emily

I agree with the comments that everyone has made so far. I also wish to add how very courteous and ladylike Kailee is. She comes across as a very classy young woman -- so polite and well-mannered. I found that little moment with the mineral water very revealing. Kailee went out of her way to set the interviewer at ease, which was very generous and thoughtful of her. That's undoubtedly yet another reason why she is such a successful model. She clearly would be a dream to work with.

I think her parents deserve credit not only for bringing her up to love her full-figured beauty, but also for raising her to be genteel and civil. Such graciousness is rare among today's youth.

She's also so cultured and cosmopolitan! She even speaks French. And she clearly appreciates art and culture.

I particularly loved the audio excerpts that came with the interview. Kailee has always had such a sweet, beautiful voice, and it was a pleasure to listen to it.

MelanieW

Yes, definitely. Many, many things in this profile of Kailee inspired me, but those were probably the most enjoyable moments of all. I am so glad that at least one plussize model unashamedly acknowledges her love of food, and doesnt equivocate about it.

I really enjoyed the part where Kailee discusses her own images. Ive never read something like that in any model interview before, not as a whole separate section anyway. It was really interesting to learn what Kailee thinks about her own work, and to hear some behind-the-scenes secrets. She is such a bright and perceptive girl.

But I canNOT believe that Modern Bride didnt publish her bridal editorial! Those images are not only among the most gorgeous of Kailees career, but among the most beautiful that any plussize model has ever created. Ever. It was the perfect editorial, and would have given the world a more exciting impression of curvaceous beauty than ever before.

And I really appreciated seeing Kailees "Simply Be" videos again. Theyre amazing. Its very convenient to have them together on one page for easy viewing. Those are probably the best fashion videos that any company has ever produced, thanks to the way Kailee looks and moves. And the outfits were very flattering on her figure.

renata

Kailee sounds like she would be a lot of fun to be around. As somebody else said earlier, though, I almost can't believe that she could have ever had any doubts about her beauty, since she's SO gorgeous. And she's prettier now than ever before.

The section in the interview that talked about height really made an impression on me:


That's true! I would way sooner be taken by seeing Kailee's beauty on the runway than just by seeing a model who is tall.

There should definitely be more diversity in model's heights. I really relate to those models who are 5'8 or less - and that includes so many popular girls (Shannon Marie, Christina, Valerie, Hayley, and of course Kailee herself).