Aspiring Model Rejected For Being "Too Tall and Curvy" (Details, pics)

23-year-old Taylor Rhoden, a former student nurse from Los Angeles who was told she was 'too tall' and 'too curvy' to ever become a model in the fashion industry, has finally won a contract with a lingerie brand, Curvy Kate.

Curvy Kate ran an open casting call to pick its next model, and Taylor, who gave up nursing and moved to LA to pursue her modeling dreams, qualified into the modeling competition, dubbed 'Star In A Bra'.

After the live auditions, Taylor was voted by the public as the next lingerie model out of almost 1,000 competitors.

According to reports, Taylor, a size 12 who had been repeatedly told she would never be a model because of her body also earned a modeling contract with the esteemed True Model Management agency, based in New York.

Speaking after becoming the new face of underwear label Curvy Kate, Taylor said: I've been turned away from many agencies due to my height. I've always been told that I'm "too tall".

Although I thought my height and look was beautiful and unique, I felt like the agencies never saw that,' Taylor said.

'It's because of this that I entered Star in a Bra, in the wider modelling industry I am yet to see women that look like me, not only am I tall, I'm also plus size and I'm black, African-American, so I would really like to see someone that resembles me for once in the spotlight.'

At first, Taylor said she 'literally could not believe' she had won the competition. 'It felt so surreal because I've been working so hard at turning my modelling dreams into my reality for so long and finally everything was coming to fruition,' she said.

'Through winning I'm hoping to bring a new look to Curvy Kate. I am not the traditional curve model, and I think that's always a plus. I'm hoping that by adding me to the family, a different target population of women will also feel included: women of color and taller women

'This is an opportunity for me to inspire women all over the world to love the skin they're in.'

See more sexy photos below of Taylor as she's unveiled the latest Curvy Kate model.