She came from a small town in upstate New York and saved up as much money as she could from waiting tables as a teen. She thought she wouldn't get any attention because of her size and curvaceousness, but decided to enter Maxim's Hometown Hotties contest. Though she started with little confidence that she'd win, she actually made it to the Top 100 twice. So of course that boosted her confidence a lot and she ended up getting signed to two modeling agencies.