Karlie Kloss Was Called Both ‘Too Fat’ and ‘Too Skinny’ in One Day by Casting Agents
Karlie Kloss has done it all as a model. She’s appeared on multiple covers of international editions of Vogue, been a Dior muse, and was a regular on the Victoria’s Secret runway. And,yet, not even she’s been able to escape some of the industry’s blunt and often nonsensical body criticism. During a conversation at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity at the Palais convention center in the French coastal city on Monday, Kloss spoke about her struggle—in the eyes of a casting agent—to be accepted for the size of her body.
“I was called both too fat and too thin by a casting agent on the same day,” Kloss, 24, told Hearst Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles, according to Page Six. She added that despite the often contradictory standards set by the industry—or perhaps because of them—she has learned over time to focus not on her weight but on her health and strength. “I don’t want to please anyone but myself,” she said, causing the audience to give her a standing ovation, Page Six reports.
The supermodel also spoke about the other way she prioritizes health from the inside out: through coding and computer science classes. “At my core, I am totally a nerd. I love understanding how things work,” she said, adding that computer science “is not the sexiest thing,” but that “I am so passionate about it, and it is genuine.”
Karlie Kloss, who started her “Kode With Klossy” computer science summer camps for young girls last year, has never been one to hide her inner geek. She joined scientist Bill Nye on his new Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World as a special correspondent, helping to explain climate change to rapper Desiigner. Last year, she told W she wanted “a trip to space” for Christmas, as well as the more practical Nintendo NES Classic. She’s got the right idea: Learning to code and traveling to space will undoubtedly serve international supermodel Karlie Kloss much better than bending her body to every whim of every fickle casting director.
Related: Karlie Kloss Took a Pedicab to the 2017 Met Gala
Karlie Kloss Takes W’s Screen Test:
Model Portrait: Karlie Kloss
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Dior Haute Couture show, Paris. July 4, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Departing the Eli Saab show in Paris, on the way to John Paul Gautier
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Riding through New York traffic on her way to the Met Gala, May 3, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Dior Haute Couture show, Paris. July 4, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Photographed at the Dior Haute Couture show, Paris. July 4, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011
Stripping away the layers after closing the Dior Haute Couture show, Paris. July 4, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
A rare moment of solitude at the Hôtel de Crillon on July 4, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
A delicate pause at Elie Saab, July 6, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Backstage at Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture show in Paris, July 6, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Hôtel de Crillon on July 6, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
Kloss does her own hair and makeup in her room at Hotel de Crillon, July 6, 2011
Photographed by Gabrielle Revere © 2011 Retouching: Milk Digital
