Expert: Kitty Kavey - 3/29/2008

Question
My son's girlfriend is absolutely gorgeous.  All her pics on myspace are commented BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, MODEL MATERIAL..etc..
She just looked into possibly doing the America's Next Top Model and she was so let down due to it having a height limit of 5'7" and at 16 she is 4'10"...is modeling totally out for such beauty.  I know she will grow some more but she was wanting to try and get started.  She has always liked being short but now she is starting to hate it..but her and my son who is tall are so cute together.  IS MODELING TOTALLY OUT FOR HER?

Answer
It is unlikely that your son's girlfriend will grow tall enough to make the minimum height requirement for fashion modeling.  Perhaps you could steer her interests towards commercial print modeling instead.

Commercial print models model products and services other than beauty or fashion.  Unlike fashion models, they generally work from their local area, and not much travel is required - so she can look for agents closest to her location.

Many commercial print agents also represent actors - and that's another area of the industry where there is no height, age or size requirements.  

She can use one of the modeling agency directories available in her local library, bookstore, online or on newsstands in New York City and Los Angeles to locate commercial print agents in her area.

There are also several books written about commercial print modeling - perhaps she would like to read the details, and many of those books also contain examples of the type of photographs she will need.

Good luck to her,
~Kitty