Emme (model)

Melissa Aronson, better known as Emme (born 1963), is a plus-size model, and is largely recognized as the leading model in the profession, as well as its highest earner.[1][2]

Contents

Early life

Born Melissa Miller in New York City, Emme was raised in Saudi Arabia, returning to the United States as a teenager to attend Kent School in northwest Connecticut.[1]

When she was a preteen girl, her stepfather encircled her thighs with magic marker and drew on her stomach to show her how she needed to lose weight.[1]

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 graduation, she spent two years in Flagstaff, Arizona where she was a reporter and morning anchor for the NBC affiliate KNAZ-TV.

Media

In 2009, Emme was host of FOX's reality dating series More to Love.[3][4]

She previously hosted Fashion Emergency on E! where she gave fashion advice to women of all ages.[5]

Her "Simply Green with Emme" iVillage blog came about from her brush with lymphatic cancer in 2007,[6][7] pondering all things for the quest of green living for herself and her family.[8]

Emme posts as well for the Living channel on The Huffington Post on body image, self esteem, and related matters.[9][10]

Her column "Ask Emme" appeared monthly in Mode magazine in the 1990s. She's been named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" (1994 and 1999) and Glamour magazine's "Woman of the Year" (1997). Ladies' Home Journal selected her as one of its "Most Fascinating Women of the Year" (1997) and as one of its "Most Important Women in America" (1999).[10]

Her first book, True Beauty—Positive Attitudes & Practical Tips from the World's Leading Plus Size Model, was published in 1997. Also in 1997, she was invited to speak before a Congressional subcommittee about eating disorders.[10]

Her second book, Life's Little Emergencies: Everyday Rescue for Beauty, Fashion, Relationships, and Life, was published in 2003. Her third book, written with her husband, Morning Has Broken: A Couple's Journey Through Depression, was published in January 2006. She and her husband wrote their first children's book What Are You Hungry For?, illustrated by Erik Brooks and published by Harper Collins, which was released in the summer of 2007.

Personal life

Emme's sister Melanie is also a model.[11] Emme married Phillip Aronson in 1989 and had one child born in 2001, they are now divorced. Emme lives in New Jersey.[2][12]

Emme had a sportswear line 2-26 women's clothing sold at QVC 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.[13]

She had been a resident of Leonia, New Jersey.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c Witchel, Alex. "Size 14, 190 Pounds: A Model Figure", The New York Times, March 12, 1997. Accessed October 11, 2007. "When she was high-school age, her family moved back to the States, settling in Houston, and Emme attended the Kent School in Connecticut, where she 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."
  2. ^ a b Pedota, Chris. "One couple's climb to hope Supermodel and husband tell their sides of coming back from his depression", The Kansas City Star, April 2, 2002. Accessed June 2, 2007. "Emme and Phillip Aronson at home in Closter, New Jersey."
  3. ^ "More to Love at IMDb". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477137/. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  4. ^ "There's More to Love About Emme". http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/There-is-More-to-Love-About-Emme.html. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  5. ^ "Court Rules ‘Fashion Emergency’ Cable Show Was Not a Hand-Me-Down". http://www.metnews.com/articles/fash0820.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  6. ^ "What I Learned in the Eye of the Storm". http://crazysexylife.com/2010/what-i-learned-in-the-eye-of-the-storm/. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  7. ^ "Bio at official site". http://emmenation.com/about/inside.html. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  8. ^ "Iowa Women's Leadership Conference: Emme biography". http://www.iowawomensconference.com/Content/Conference/2011-Speakers/Emme.aspx. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  9. ^ New Year's Wish: A National Boost Of Self-Esteem
  10. ^ a b c "Emme: This Emotional Life". http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/people/expert/emme. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  11. ^ "Beauty at Large". http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20143317,00.html. Retrieved 13 July 2011. 
  12. ^ "Emme's Cancer Battle: 'I Needed to Be Strong'". http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20171259,00.html. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  13. ^ "Emme Doll Aims for Healthy Body Image". http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126339&page=1. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  14. ^ "HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS GET THE BIG PICTURE ON MODELING", The Record (Bergen County), September 12, 1997. "Emme, the world's leading full-figured model and a resident of Leonia, was the star..."

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