The Scottish Mail on Sunday - You
IT’S MY TURN TO BE A PIN-UP Plus-size model Hayley Hasselhoff on her poster-boy afther David and making a name ofr herself as fashion designer
As the daughter of ‘the Hoff ’, HAYLEY HASSELHOFF has had to live up to her Baywatch- star father. She tells Liz Jones why she is enjoying making a name for herself in her own right as a plus-size model and fashion designer
It’s quite a shock to learn that Hayley Hasselhoff, daughter of Baywatch star David (who spent over a decade in red shorts, saving people from drowning), gave up swimming at a young age. ‘I have tough memories about growing into my figure,’ says the 24-year-old. ‘Swimming was something I loved. When I was in primary school I was on the swimming team with older girls. I began wearing a bra when I was eight or nine years old. The girls would tease me, so I quit because I didn’t feel comfortable in the changing room. I wish I could tell myself as a little girl that it was those girls’ insecurities and not my own; that I shouldn’t have sacrificed my happiness because of how they made me feel.’
I’m meeting the actress/model/ fashion designer for tea at the Bloomsbury Hotel in London. My first impression is that Hayley is by no means large: I would call her statuesque. My second impression is that she is dressed head to toe in black: a long coat, trousers, a sheer top over her not inconsiderable bust. All are by Elvi, the high-street fashion label for women size 14 to 26. ‘I do wear black but I also wear a lot of white.’ Her hands are covered in rings and her skin is milky white, which belies the fact that she practically grew up on the Californian Baywatch set. She doesn’t touch a single scone with cream – not because she’s on a diet but because she doesn’t stop talking.
For ten years from the age of eight, she was surrounded by the ‘perfect’ bodies of actresses Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth, but they weren’t the source of her insecurity. ‘I never associated Baywatch with body image. It was the girls at school who made me want to cover up. I was a very young girl and I was surrounded by love on a family-orientated set. Baywatch was my playground where I got to see my father’s love for his craft. The only effect it had was to make me love acting. I had a great time on set.
‘My dad has always made me feel beautiful. We would talk to each other about everything, which was so nice for me as a teenager. A lot of my friends would lie to their parents about where they were going – but because my family was so close I never felt I had to lie to them about anything. I still talk to my mum, dad and sister every day.’
Hayley is the youngest daughter of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach, a former model and actress. I imagine it must have been hard for a child who, in her own words, was ‘curvy – my weight always went up and down’ to have a pin-up as a father and a model for a mother.
Did she diet as a child and as a teenager? ‘I’ve done them all – WeightWatchers, multiple cleanses. But as you get older you realise the best diet is not to restrict yourself. A healthy lifestyle is best: eating clean but also allowing yourself a cheat day here and there. The UK’s new sugar tax is a great thing. We’re now far more health conscious than ever before and people power is forcing change. About time, too. I remember being allowed sweets as a child, but in moderation.’
She appeared in a couple of Baywatch episodes, took acting jobs (most notably in a TV series, ironically, about a group of teens at weight-loss camp), and then, aged 14, was spotted and asked to become a plus-size model. Hayley is a UK size 16, which seems very normal to me – not overweight at all. I wonder what she thinks of the term ‘plus size’. In the 1920s, the first fashion brand for bigger women, Lane Bryant, used the slogan ‘For Stout Women’, I tell her, while the term ‘outsize’ was used by Evans for decades until it fell out of favour. ‘I don’t think I’d walk into a store and go, “Hey, where’s the plus-size section?” But in my defence, I don’t have a problem with the term. I don’t see the words plus size in a negative light because they have given me so much success. I’m blessed to be able to work with my curves in this industry.’
I ask if she is angry that the world’s health problems are often laid at the feet of women who are size 14 and upwards. The most famous curvy model of them all, Ashley Graham, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in February, was accused of being ‘unhealthy’ by former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs.
‘You cannot say someone is unhealthy because of their size unless you have their medical
records and a doctor says so. I had the pleasure of meeting the ultramarathon runner Mirna Valerio a while back. She is a beautiful, inspiring woman who is both fit and plus size. I have a personal trainer, I box, I do pilates, I do spinning. I might have a curvy figure but that doesn’t dictate my health.’
I press her further. Does she wonder why she is bigger given that she has such a healthy lifestyle? ‘My mother had boobs. My grandmother had boobs! I had tests including a thyroid scan to see why I wasn’t losing weight. My family was always very health-driven, so we paid attention. But my body is the way it is for a reason. And I love my shape for what it is and what it will be.’
Does she feel social media encourages young girls to worry about how they look? ‘I’m hardly on social media. I would encourage girls to be present with who they are with, don’t spend that time on the phone.’ Does she allow her images to be airbrushed? ‘I’m the model, not the editor. They can go off and do whatever they want with my image.’
She has always been interested in clothes. ‘As a child, I was very girly: I wore pink, lavender. I loved dresses but nothing mini or tight – that wasn’t my style. I was also spontaneous and very adventurous; I was the one who would do crazy things with my dad and go on adventures but I would be dressed as a girl. I’ve been interested in design since I was little. I used to cut things up, I used to go crazy! I became very clever with my school uniform by switching things up to make it my own. As a teenager both my parents let me turn my wardrobe into a spray-paint wall. I was always making contemporary art to release my emotions. I look back and some of my fondest memories are going to the arts and crafts store with my dad.’
She thinks fashion isn’t frivolous – it’s vital. ‘Fashion was always a way to feel good. I lived vicariously through my outfits; if I didn’t feel comfortable in my figure, I felt great