Plus-size models

Defying all odds, 23-year-old Australian model Robyn Lawley has been named the first plus-sized model ever to spearhead a campaign for high-end fashion designer Ralph Lauren.

                                 

The 6 foot 2 inch beauty has graced the covers of French Elle and Vogue Italia before. She began modeling at age 16, but had to struggle to keep up with the industry's skinny standards.

                         

Last July, Vogue Italia Editor Franca Sozzani feautured three plus-size models in lingerie - Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine and Robyn Lawley - on their cover in a bid to fight anorexia. The trio looked stunning with all those extra pounds!

          

Model Sophie Dahl poses in an undated photo in New York City. The fabulously hot plus-size model is an unabashed size 14. Dahl has graced the ramp for several designers and even kicked off controversy by posing nude for Yves Saint Laurent Opium perfume campaign

                      

Whitney Thompson (America's Next Top Model cycle 10 winner) poses at 'BROADWDAY BARES 19.0: CLICK IT!'on Broadway at Roseland. She is the first plus-size model to win the reality-based TV show America's Next Top Model.

                       

Model Kate Dillon walks the runway at 'The Big Kiss' Lane Bryant's '02 Lingerie Fashion Show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Dillon battled anorexia in her youth and successfully overcame the disease. She had a enviable career as a size 14 plus-size model.

                   

Lizzie Miller shot to fame with the 'Glamour' magazine photo feauturing her not so-perfect non-airbrushed body with stretch marks and tummy flesh. The picture became a rage after it started recieving positive responses from women all over the world, who expressed their happiness in seeing someone flaunting her body without any embarrassment.

                       

Emme Aronson is the first plus-size model to get the supermodel status. She was a reporter with NBC before she launched her modeling career.She was named People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Emme is very involved in the community trying to increase public awareness of eating disorders. Emme even has a doll (the first full-figured doll) modelled after her.

                                

Crystal Renn's life can be equated to a graph. She suffered from anorexia and eventually turned into a plus-size model after battling the disease. Renn penned down her struggle with anorexia in a book - Hungry - thereby becoming a face of those struggling with self esteem and weight issues. But when you look at Renn's recent pictures, they seem to tell a different story.

    

Season 7 'American Idol' semi-finalist Joanne Borgella is represented by the Wilhelmina Models agency as a plus-size model.

                    

Velvet d'Amour rose to stardom after she walked the ramp for big names like John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier. She also acted in a movie 'Avida' which was selected for the Cannes. The picture shows her with figure skater Surya Bonaly at Cannes.

               

Pollyanna McIntosh is a plus-size model and actress who was feautured in Vogue fashion edition.