Hard to believe, but Victoria’s Secret model Cameron Russell claims that models have some of the biggest self esteem issues and actually, in a recent Ted Talk, she discourages girls from entering the industry!
The 25-year-old model admits that even though models are gorgeous, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
In her very honest speech, Cameron says:
“How we look ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ though it is superficial and immutable ├óΓé¼ΓÇ£ has a huge impact on our lives. I always just say I was scouted, but that means nothing. The real way I became a model is that I won a genetic lottery, and I am a recipient of a legacy.
For the past few centuries, we have defined beauty not just as health and youth and symmetry that we├óΓé¼Γäóre biologically programmed to admire, but also as tall, slender figures with femininity and white skin. This is a legacy that was built for me, and that I├óΓé¼Γäóve been cashing out on.”
Talking about models’ insecurities, she added:
“The thing that I have never said on camera is that ‘I am insecure.’ And I am insecure because I have to think about what I look like every day. If you ever think, ‘If I had thinner thighs and shinier hair, wouldn├óΓé¼Γäót I be happier,’ you just need to meet a group of models. They have the thinnest thighs and the shiniest hair and the coolest clothes and they are the most physically insecure women, probably, on the planet.”
And she continues to discourage girls to aspiring to become a model. She says:
“The first answer is: I don├óΓé¼Γäót know, they don├óΓé¼Γäót put me in charge of that. But the second answer, and what I really want to say to these little girls, is: why? You know, you can be anything. You could be the President of the United States or the inventor of the next Internet or a ninja cardio-thoracic surgeon poet, which would be awesome because you would be the first one.
Saying that you want to be a model when you grow up is akin to saying that you want to win the Powerball when you grow up. It├óΓé¼Γäós out of your control and it├óΓé¼Γäós awesome ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ and it├óΓé¼Γäós not a career path.”
We do agree that she did win the genetic lottery! At least she’s honest about how she became famous.
It certainly is an eye-opener for those who want to be a model… Besides, they’ll always have America’s Next Top Model as a backup plan!
[Image via Jeff Grossman/WENN.]