Emme (born Melissa Owens Miller; June 30, 1963) is an American

plus-size model A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in Model (person), modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either Big & Tall or Tall or Overw ...

social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

and body image advocate. Emme gained worldwide fame as the first full-figured model chosen for ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, first in 1994, then for a second time in 1999. Emme is largely recognized in the 1990s as the leading

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

in the profession, as well as its highest earner.Pedota, Chris
"One couple's climb to hope Supermodel and husband tell their sides of coming back from his depression"
''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'', April 2, 2002. Retrieved June 2, 2007. "Emme and Phillip Aronson at home in Closter, New Jersey."

Early life

Born Melissa Miller in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Emme was raised in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, and returned to the United States as a teenager to attend

Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...

in northwest Connecticut.Witchel, Alex
"Size 14, 190 Pounds: A Model Figure"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 12, 1997. Retrieved October 11, 2007. When Emme was in high school, her family moved back to the States, settling in Houston, where she attended

in Connecticut. At Kent School Emme joined the rowing team, sealing a life's passion for strenuous exercise.... In her book, she tells the story of Sam's instructing her at age 12 to strip down to her underwear while he took a black marker and drew circles on her outer thighs, hips, stomach and arms to highlight where she needed to lose weight." When Emme was in high-school, her family moved back to the States, settling in Houston. She later attended the Kent School in Connecticut, where she joined the rowing team. In her book, she tells the story of her

stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a non-biological male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. Culture Though less comm ...

instructing her at age 12 to strip down to her underwear while he took a black marker and drew circles on her outer thighs, hips, stomach and arms to highlight where she needed to lose weight. Syracuse University awarded Emme a full athletic scholarship and she became a member of the crew team; she is also a member of the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame, where she was inducted for her significant contribution to women's athletics and to the sport of rowing In addition, Emme was invited to the U.S. Olympic Team trials, as well as several U.S. National Team trials. After graduating in 1985, she spent two years in Flagstaff, Arizona where she was a reporter and morning anchor for the NBC affiliate

KNAZ-TV KNAZ-TV (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains a news bureau on the campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and its transm ...

Personal life

Emme's sister Melanie is also a model. Emme married Phillip Aronson in 1989 and moved to New Jersey. In 2001, Emme's daughter Toby was born. She separated from her husband in 2007, and later finalized her divorced in 2008. Emme's daughter Toby Cole was recently in Teen Vogue and is signed at

IMG Models IMG Models is an international modeling agency headquartered in New York City and with additional offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. It is a subsidiary of the talent management company International Management Group. The com ...

.Toby Cole Signed to IMG
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Cancer

In May 2007 Emme was diagnosed with Stage 2a

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

– a type of lymphoma that is often curable with radiation and chemotherapy. She had surgery and in November 2007 doctors declared that she was "cancer-free".

Professional life

In 1998, she was the first plus-size model to be a spokesperson for

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brother ...

. Emme had a sportswear line of sized 2–26 women's

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

sold at

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

under the ''me BY EMME'' label and the Emme Collection sportswear line manufactured by Kellwood and sold to department stores. A 16" collectable doll bearing Emme's name and likeness generates money to benefit body image and self-esteem organizations.

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emme 1963 births Living people Female models from New York (state) American reporters and correspondents Television personalities from New York City Journalists from New York City Kent School alumni People from Closter, New Jersey People from Leonia, New Jersey Plus-size models Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni 21st-century American women