Kylie Bisutti was the "it" girl of the modeling world,
spending the past few years relishing in the fame and
fortune that came with being a poster girl for beauty.
But she has since become part of a growing number of
models ditching the spotlight for Jesus.
Just four years ago, Bisutti beat out 10,000 girls to win
the Victoria's Secret model search competition, and
started booking big-time jobs. But in a stunning about-
face, she recently took to Twitter and announced she
was quitting her lucrative modeling gig to choose her
Evangelical Christian faith over fame.
"I don't regret anything that I have done because it's just
the testament to how much I have changed since then,"
she said.
In the process, Bisutti has cashed in on a book, a new
Christian clothing line called God-Inspired Fashion, and
nationwide speaking tours.
Bisutti said the shiny, glamorous world of modeling
dimmed after photos of her from shoots ended up on
pornographic sites. It was her faith, she said, that led her
to walk away. She wrote a new tell-all memoir, "I'm No
Angel," dishing on the modeling industry's dark side --
from eating disorders to nearly-nude photo shoots.
When her book was released, Victora's Secret pushed
back, saying Bisutti exaggerated her relationship with
them. But it seems Bisutti has used her racy modeling
past as a launch pad for a burgeoning business.
"It's part of the story... and it does show the change in
me," she said. "I'm not really here to bash the industry. I
am just here to tell what happened to me in the
industry ... my agency calling me a 'fat cow' when I was
a 108 pounds."
In a statement to ABC News, Bisutti's former agency
said at no time has any model been called a "fat cow"
and they said they had no knowledge of any of her
photos being used on porn sites.
While on her speaking tour, Bisutti visited the Mosaic
Christian Church in Sacramento, Calif., and from parents
to pre-teens, the room was packed. She has developed
a devout fan following, and many of them are young
girls, struggling with insecurities.
Like Bisutti, Nicole Weder dreamt of glitz and glamour
of modeling runways and Hollywood.
"I just wanted to be famous because I thought that
would be--make me happy," Weder said. "I thought that
being successful, and in front of people, would make me
happy."
But even at 5-foot-10, Weder was told her curves
posed a problem.
"My agent said my hips were too wide, and she said just
the way I was built, I could never do that, and I was
really embarrassed, and I left that agency that day
crying," she said.
Weder's former agent responded to ABC News, saying
she doesn't make blanket statements like that to models.
Four years later, Weder has shunned her provocative
past and put her Christian faith front and center,
offering advice on everything from clothes to
relationships to tweens.
When she is not a personal shopper, Weder runs a
website called Project Inspired, where her Christian fans
can find her monthly "God Talks" video messages, in
which she reads scripture to young girls over video chat.
"I am more fulfilled now that I have God in my life, than I
ever thought that I could be by measuring up to what
my agents wanted me to do, or what the photographer
thought I looked like," she said.
In Idaho, Kylie Bisutti continues to work with her fashion
line team on new ideas -- every meeting starts with a
prayer. Her line offers shirts, pants, blazers and scarves,
all featuring Bible scripture.
"We believe he definitely put this idea on our hearts to
have this Christian clothing line and to start it," she said.
"It's just the way for me to kind of share my faith or you
know share what I believe with other people."
Next
« Prev Post
« Prev Post
Previous
Next Post »
Next Post »
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon