So you began modeling at the tender age of 12. How did you get into it?
My story begins before I ever stepped on the runway. At school, I was always teased. I was always the tallest and skinniest person in class (boys and girls included). I was called giraffe and stick. One time on the bus, a boy said “raise your hand if you think Gerren is a giraffe” and the whole bus raised their hands. My mum and grandma always gave me affirmations and a spiritual background, but peer pressure definitely contributed to my low self-esteem. I began having body image problems. When I finally got a chance to model, I was scouted on the street, so that gave me a feeling that I could finally do something with my height.

Had you ever thought about modeling before you got scouted?
I was always fascinated by fashion but mostly the clothing side.

Is modeling as glamorous as it seems?
Not as it seems. It’s fun but its hard work. There are a lot of hours and a lot of tweaks that they do to the pictures.

What’s the hardest thing about modeling?
Probably being there for so many hours and waiting around, when you just want to go home and go to sleep.

What’s the best thing about modeling?
The free clothes definitely!

So what happened when you turned 14?
I’m in a film called America the Beautiful, about the obsession we have over beauty and the power each person holds within. It also talks about cosmetics, plastic surgery and how media affects women. In the film, we use my story, I started modeling at 12 and I was on Oprah and Entertainment Tonight, I was the first African American girl to do a Marc Jacob’s campaign, Betsy Johnson, DKNY, etc…I was labeled the “It” girl. But at 14, some people in the fashion industry called me obese because I was a size 4, and my runway career came to a screeching halt.

How did you deal with that?
I went to Paris to see if they had a different view on size but it was worse…They wanted me to be a size zero or a negative size! I didn’t really understand what was going on…I don’t have any regrets though, because something positive has come from it. The real story is what I’ve learned.. I talk to young girls about body image and tell them my story. The body image problem has become an epidemic in high school and college campuses, so I want to do what I can.

Do you ever look back and feel angry at the fashion industry?
It upsets me because it’s really sad to consider a size four obese. It’s crazy that people need to go through that and get self-conscious because they’re convinced they’re “big”.

So are you planning to go back into modeling, or are you focusing on helping girls with their body image?
I model a little bit, but not to the extent of what I used to do. It’s not my life and I don’t do runway shows. It’s just a hobby.

You’re now part of reality show, Baldwin Hills. What’s that about?
It’s basically about a group of friends…some people don’t get along…that kind of stuff. We go to parties and events and they just film us. It’s really goofy and funny, with some drama of course!

So what advice would you give to teenage girls and upcoming models?
Beauty is found on what’s on the inside; what’s in your heart, how you treat others, charisma etc. As a society, we need to take our self-esteem back and discover what’s unique and beautiful about us and make that our value system. A lot of people are caught up in these images that they’re bombarded with every day and make them their value system. Oprah quoted that five year-old girls were more afraid of getting fat than their parents dying. When we base who we are on the way we look, we lose our self-confidence. We have to change the way we think. The industry will never change; it’s a money making machine. We need to change! We need a new standard of beauty enforced by family and friends. For example, after a screening of the movie, a father got up in tears and confessed that he was guilty of making his daughter have low self-esteem. He had her stand up and apologized to her. It was really touching. Stories like that give me strength to go talk to young girls.

What are you planning on doing in the future?
I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to have my own business, hopefully a clothing line and I’m going to do some self-esteem camps for young girls. Hopefully I’ll start on that by summer time.

Do you have a myspace?
www.myspace.com/pinkangel1990