Super sexy with a strong business sense, plus model Jamil Kali is taking the industry by storm with her gorgeous looks and soon to be released calendar, Flawless, co-created with PLUS Empowerment Editor Chenese Lewis!

[Maddy] Did you grow up with positive feelings about your body?
 
[Jamil] I think I grew up with the typical self-conscious feelings that all girls grow up with.  I developed pretty early and I took pride in the fact that I had a curvy body.  I remember feeling the pressure to be in shape.  Those pressures came from outside influences including the media

In my family all the women came in different shapes and sizes.  I was never encouraged to be skinny but learned that the most important thing was to be as healthy as possible.  I never viewed plus size people in a negative way.
 
[Maddy] Did you come to a time in your life when you became comfortable with your body? If so, what was the turning point and how has it helped to mold you?
 
[Jamil] I was always comfortable with my body for the most part because I always knew that my body wasn't meant to be skinny.  I think I equate curves with beauty because all the role models I had growing up were curvy women.  And as I got older and became more and more comfortable in my skin, I grew more and more confident.
 
[Maddy] When did you become interested in modeling?
 
[Jamil] I can remember wanting to be a model when I was 10 years old.  When I became a teen though, I figured it could never happen because I wasn't skinny.  I didn't learn about the plus modeling industry until I was 23.  While I was on the subway, a designer approached me to be in a fashion show.  I loved it and after that I knew this was what I wanted to do.


Photographer: Stanley Debas