BIOGRAPHY
WHY SHE’S BADASS: Before she was out of middle school, Joanne was already learning and performing music alongside multiple-Grammy-winning hit-maker Wyclef Jean as part of his New Jersey-based talent collaborative “Bugga Basement.” A singer-songwriter and American Idol alum who has also graced several covers of Plus Model Magazine, Joanne Borgella, Curvy Girls‘ newest castmember, is poised to become the first superstar model-pop star to hit Hollywood since Vanessa Williams and Whitney Houston! Joanne’s rising success is happening so fast that it’s even taken this jet-set fashionista by surprise. “I used to dream about being a model but I didn’t know it would come to life,” Joanne tells NUVOtv. “I thought I was always the odd girl out at school and growing up.” Everything changed for the New Yorker after becoming the 2005 winner of Oxygen’s sexy and sassy beauty pageant show Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance. Shortly after, a random visit to the offices of Essence magazine
Joanne Borgella
led to an invitation to pursue plus-size modeling. ‘I used to dream about being a model but I didn’t know it would come to life. I thought I was always the odd girl out at school and growing up. Now repped by powerhouse agency Wilhelmina Models, the multi-talented Haitian-American model is a force to be reckoned with. Joanne, who is one of the first plus-size beauties to walk the runway of New York Fashion Week, has modeled for top brands like Ashley Stewart, Macy’s and Nordstrom and has been featured in Seventeen, Essence and InStyle. She also recently appeared in a campaign for Procter & Gamble and as a talent coach on the hit MTV reality seriesMade. When she’s not busy winning crowns and wowing Simon Cowell, Joanne is also a fashion designer with her own jewelry and plus-size clothing lines. Is there anything this talented rising star can’t do? We’re thinking, No to the n-o!
