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Can A Plus Sized Model Earn As Much As Tyra?
Whitney Thompson, 20, became the first "plus-sized model" to win on America's Next Top Model (TWC) on May 14. Thompson is between sizes 8 and 10, a first for the show. She took home a year-long contract with Elite Model Management], a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl (PG) cosmetics and a cover photo on Seventeen magazine.
But do plus-sized models command the same fees as straight-sized models?
Yes, they do, says Susan Georget, director of the Ten-20 division at Wilhelmina models in New York City. A plus-sized model can earn just as much, if not more, than a straight sized model depending on the work she's hired to do. "Just like a straight-sized model, you can make a career out of it," says Georget. "But not everyone's going to make a career out of it."
Most modeling agencies represent women who are between sizes 2 and 6. Georget mostly handles women sizes 8 to 16 because that is the range that advertisers are looking for. That said, not every plus-sized model is a good fit for full-time work. Even though her division is called the 10-20 division "there's not enough work over a size 16," Georget says.
That could change, however, because plus-sized modeling opportunities are continuing to increase. When Georget started at Wilhelmina more than 20 years ago, the three big modeling agencies in New York –Ford, Elite and Wilhemina-only had about 50 models among them who were considered plus-sized. Today, each agency has 50 to 75 plus-sized female models, compared to upwards of 100 straight-sized female models, she says.
"I push them for everything from beauty to runway to shows in Milan," Georget says. Salaries range from $150 to $10,000 a day for runway work and anywhere from $150 to $30,000 a day for print work, she says. (And, once, Georget booked a plus-sized model for $100,000 a day.)
Still, that's not a "supermodel" salary – and supermodels tend to be smaller sizes. According to Forbes.com, America's Next Top Model host and former Victoria's Secret (LTD) cat walker Tyra Banks earned $18 million last year, and at once point in her career banked $50,000 a day.
But Georget, who says she doesn't even like using the term "plus-sized," says she's proud her models do well financially. "They're not big," she says. "They're women with curves."
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