Curvaceous Andile comfortable in her skin
Being criticised for her curvaceous body has only made Zululand model Andile Xulu (22) stronger and more determined to succeed.
She turned insults into something positive and soon showed the world that modelling is not just about petite sizes, but also about selfconfidence and self-love.
As a young girl Andile used to take her mother’s beauty magazines and would imagine herself being part of that world, but she would be discouraged because of her size.
‘I used to take those magazines and cut and paste pictures of the models on my wall.
‘They were all smaller in size and people would tell me it was something I should be striving for.
‘I wanted to be like them, until my grandmother told me I was perfect the way I was,’ she says.
After taking her gogo’s advice, Andile became comfortable in her own skin and entered various pageants in primary and high school.
After winning some pageant crowns, this public relations graduate from Mtubatuba realised modelling was what she wanted to do.
She entered the Miss Johannesburg competition and was placed in the top six.
Soon after that, people in the industry noticed her potential and she started featuring in various newspapers and magazines and became one of the emerging models from this region.
‘I’m not in the plus size or smallest model, but I’m curvaceous and I now know there are opportunities for people like me in the industry,’ she says.
Andile draws her inspiration from curvaceous icons such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Christina Aguilera.
Her biggest dream is to be a role model and encourage other young women like her to follow their dreams and not to let people’s perceptions limit their hunger for success