9 supermodels tell how they overcame their bullies

9 supermodels tell how they overcame their bullies

She might have walked the runway for Victoria’s Secret, but Karlie Kloss found it difficult growing up. “There was a lot of material for kids at home to tease me about,” she said. “I'd go back to high school from Paris with bleached brows - my peers didn't read Vogue or care about fashion; they would think, ‘weird tall alien’.” Fortunately, Kloss had the last laugh.

The supermodel says her long legs and big teeth were the cause for cruel taunts. “When I was young, I stood out,” the supermodel told Refinery29. “I was different. I was the tallest girl. I was a stick, super-skinny, and looked different. My insecurities were my big teeth and my legs. People used to look at me and point at me and laugh at me. I never wanted to show my arms or my legs." Kurkova said she made a “conscious choice” to ignore the comments, which led to her success today.

Tyra Banks has made a career out of her big forehead, but it was cause for conversation at school – and not in a good way. Banks told AskMen.com that she “broke down” after one student said to her, "'I do not want that tall, skinny, braces mouth, big forehead girl anywhere near me.” "I used to be the freak at school,” Banks explained. “I was five foot nine and really skinny. I used to get picked on a lot. But now I can get my own back."

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has one of the most plush set of lips in the business – but the model admits they caused her grief when she was younger. "I got teased because of my lips...I used to get called 'T*t Lips' - because I had big lips but no breasts,” Whiteley told GQ. “And then I was called 'Kipper Lips'." In addition to being bullied for her full pout, the Victoria's Secret Angel added, "And boys didn't really go out with me." How times have changed!

Sadly, Gigi Hadid was the victim of online trolls earlier this month. "Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I'm not asking for special treatment," Hadid wrote on Instagram. "Your mean comments don't make me want to change my body, they don't make me want to say no to the designers that ask me to be in their shows, and they definitely don't change the designers' opinions of me."

Believe it not, Victoria’s Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel was bullied at school. "I would say to my mum, 'the girls at school are teasing me, but I look like those girls on TV'. A year later, someone took me to an agency and that's it. Revenge is always...I know it sounds terrible, but it does feel good to show those people."

Lily Cole was teased for being “a ginger” at school – but her red hair actually became a point of difference that helped catapult her career. “When I was younger I definitely did face anti-ginger prejudice. As a child all teasing hurts, whether it's because you're fat or a different race or have red hair. I had enough comments from a couple of people to make it a sore point." But, Lily says, "I sympathise with children who are going through it but when they get older and are away from stupid children making comments, most people grow to love their red hair."

Lindsey Wixson is one of the most indemand models around: she regularly graces the catwalks of Chanel and is a fixture in most magazines. But the gap-toothed smile and full lips that made her a star were once a detriment for her. "I was actually always really self-conscious about my gap. In middle school, this group of girls were always trying to beat me up - they called my gap a parking lot... I felt skinny and tall. It was the worst time of my life. But I don't feel like that anymore. Modelling has really helped build my confidence."

At age 16, Chanel Iman was the youngest model to ever feature on the cover of Vogue – but it wasn’t without some bullying. "I've always been judged and bullied for being tall and skinny my whole life,” the model explained. “Early on I listened to others and failed to appreciate what God gave me until I at last excepted what an amazing blessing it was to love me for me."