Sports Illustrated Swim Model, Kayla Fitzgerald, and Her Advocacy Work for Petite Models
Kayla Fitzgerald, a Florida-born model that is known for her beauty and grace, rose to fame after placing top 15 in Sports Illustrated’s SI Swimsearch’s first-ever open casting call, and walking in their debut fashion show at Miami Swim Week. She has since been featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, Maxim, and has been profiled by the likes of TMZ, Parade, CBS, Yahoo, and more.
Kayla has sought to use her platform in the industry to raise awareness about the struggles petite models experience, and help shorter and smaller women embrace their natural beauty. Kayla, a 5'3 model, has been discriminated against for her height and feels empowered to create more inclusive opportunities for models of all heights and sizes.
In addition to modeling, Kayla is also an accomplished actress and television personality who competed on The Amazing Race season 30. Kalya is a creative and passionate professional who is truly making an impact.
We sat down with Kayla to get an exclusive inside look at her experience in the modeling industry, the struggles she has faced being a petite model, as well as her past and future goals. Kayla has made a major name for herself within the industry, and we can’t wait to see what amazing things she has in store next and how she will continue to raise awareness about the struggles of petite models.
What is your backstory? I actually grew up in a trailer in Pine Hills, Florida, which was a pretty rough area, AKA “crime hills,” so I like to say I “started from the bottom” (insert drake) haha. For the longest time, it was just me and my mom living in a trailer and catching the lynx buses to get from point A to point B. I got into competitive cheerleading around 6 years old and that actually ended up being something I thought would be a lifetime career, whether I was competing or coaching…. but I ended up getting burnt out by the time I got to high-school. Around 7th grade, we moved to a small town outside of Orlando called Clermont, which was super country and fully surrounded by lakes so I was always out on the water or doing some sort of outdoor activity!
How did you get involved in the modeling industry? I really started getting into modeling around the age of 18 when I entered a swimsuit contest and won. After that, I started modeling for some local bikini companies in Florida, where I was shooting campaigns and building a portfolio. From there, I entered swimsuit pageants and was scouted for various companies, ranging from swimsuits to beauty. With those contracts, everything sort of spiraled and I was constantly traveling to the West Coast for jobs. When I was 22, I packed up my things and made the move to LA to pursue modeling full-time. I signed with an agency and have been working my butt off ever since haha!
What does a day in the life look like for you being a model? Honestly, every single day is different. Most of the time, I am shooting some sort of content for one of my social media platforms or brands I am working with at the time, and if I am not shooting, then I am more than likely editing something or reaching out to new brands to try to find new work and collaborations! Then you have the days that are full campaign days where you are shooting for 8 hours, and in my case, have to drive 1.5 to get back home.
How have you used your success of being a 5’3 to bring goodness to the world? I am always trying to bring awareness for petite models and have consistently used my platform and network to promote that. Currently, we are working on a campaign to get other models who advocate for change and diversity, such as Winnie Harlow, for example, to hopefully get on board and help bring more awareness to the lack of opportunity for petite models! Outside of that, I do whatever I can to help out in the community and use my platforms to promote positive change!
Do you have a role model? Who has inspired you since building your career? I definitely have to say my role model would be my mom. She has overcome so much adversity and came out on top, so I have always admired her for that. She is also a very hard worker, and that definitely rubbed off on me and helped me persevere in my career, even when I was told no thousands of times!
What do you like to do during your free time? Sleep and eat LOL. …. modeling can be non-stop going all the time so I definitely enjoy my time at home where I can relax, eat snacks, and cuddle my cat. But I do love yoga, hiking, working out, and doing anything near the beach, whether it’s riding bikes or just watching the sunset with a nice glass of wine!
What has been the most rewarding part of your career? The most rewarding part of my career is being able to be in a position where I feel like I have a voice and can help bring smiles to people’s faces. I am such a people person and I love helping others, which is part of why I wanted to be a nurse or school teacher back in the day. I have had so many people reach out and say that they were having a bad day or going through something tough and something I posted or something I did/said was part of the reason that it turned around, and honestly that never gets old.
Do you think the modeling industry still has boundaries? How do you think they should break those boundaries? There are 100% still boundaries in the industry. There are still height requirements and a variety of body types that are not accepted or given full opportunities and chances. I think now more than ever, it’s important to include all types of models and consider them to be real, professional models. It’s tough because I think it will eventually happen over time, but it’s going to take consistent work and models like me, who are different, to keep persevering and trying to make an actual difference.
Can you tell us about your time on The Amazing Race season 30? The Amazing Race was such an unforgettable experience, and something I wouldn’t change for the world, even though we were eliminated first, haha. We were actually running in the top teams and were in 5th place up until the very last challenge of that leg, mind you, this was the longest leg of any of the races in the previous seasons. I think it was a continuous 32 hours that we had been racing, and we were exhausted… so exhausted I could not even park the car, and me and Dessie got to the square for the final part of the challenge and completely forgot what we were doing. Essentially, we started out and didn’t have money in our envelope, so they had to deliberate whether or not we lost it, WHICH WE DID NOT, but they couldn’t come to a decision and we ended up on the 2nd flight on our way from NYC to Iceland. We drove around Iceland for hours, traversed over an ice glacier, raced through mud/forest in an ATV, where Dessie had to find ice glaciers and spell/figure out an Icelandic word, then we had to find the Icelandic strong people where we ended up not being able to find the designated parking (this cost us the race). From there, we took two shots, one was disgusting fish oil, and the other an alcoholic shot, mind you, we had zero food in our bellies, so that was all we were burping up while running, it was gross. We ended up in a foot race with another team, and the basketball all-stars were on the mat with a penalty. I hit the mat first and thought Dessie was right behind me, but she ended up peeing her pants, LITERALLY PEED HER PANTS, and her backpack was locking up and got jammed so she and the other teammate hit the mat at the same exact time (I still think she did first), but they “deliberated” and we were eliminated. It was the closest finish in the history of the show, with 3 teams on the mat. That’s the short version. We ended up really being the winners in the end because they sent us to Italy and we spent 2.5 weeks in Rome, all expenses paid, and we were without any outside communications like phones, Internet, etc. Every other day, a new team was eliminated and our crew just kept growing and we did every excursion and adventure there is to do in Rome, and we got to make friends with some incredible people who we probably never would have crossed paths with. IT WAS THE BEST TIME EVER!
Where do you hope to see your modeling career going in the next 5 years? I hope in the next 5 years, that I have made an imprint in the industry for petite models. My ultimate goal is to be the Ashley Graham for the petite girls!
