The modeling career of Crystal Renn has come full circle with her inclusion in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.
She was discovered at age 14 and told she had the perfect look but would have to lose a third of her body weight to make it as a fashion model. She was up for the challenge but as a result ended up battling anorexia for years.
A few years later she reassessed her diet and exercise habits and put on 70 pounds. The shift in body shape forced her to re-market herself as a plus-size model and fueled the book Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves.
Renn switched gears again in 2010, this time transforming her body to a size 8 through hiking and yoga.
The gorgeous brunette told People magazine, “I have been a double-zero to a 16 even. Now to settle at a size six or an eight, it’s a really interesting place to be, because there are very few sixes or eights.”
Renn knows she was far from the slimmest model at the 2012 SI photo shoot but she feels no pressure to ‘skinny up.’
She explained, “There’s a woman at SI who’s made it a point to make sure that the models are healthy. They’re not interested in who’s the thinnest model of them all, they’re about the girl. We all have different bodies. There’s not one type that’s idealized.”
Crystal’s SI shoot took place in Sydney, Australia. Check out more pics and her swimsuit video below:
Photos: WENN, Video Screen Grabs