Her face has that fresh allure like one of those Charlie's Angels. Just one look and she can blow you away. Her body is that of a goddess. At five foot nine and with statistics 38-28-40, her Venus figure has been draped in the best of full figure chic.
Natalie Laughlin is an angel, a Trini one as a matter of fact, who has watched over passersby in bigger than life posters in Times Square, Manhattan (next to supermodel Nikki Taylor) for Elisabeth, a division of Liz Claiborne.
Actually, she can be seen in catalogues everywhere, from Evans in London to Just My Size in the US. Ironically, modeling was only supposed to be a source of revenue while she pursued her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at New York University.
She graduated with her degree in 1997, but although acting never made the spotlight, Laughlin still has intentions of fulfilling that career.
"I am looking at openings right now. I'm hoping to get on the soaps knowing that Trinidadians love soaps," she chuckled.
Even though she migrated to Miami as a teenager with her family in 1979 and later resided in New York in her adulthood, Laughlin's heart is still here.
"I really lover the city. I'm at home there. But I have dreams to come to Trinidad and Tobago. I always kept my roots," she said. She visits and is in frequent contact with her grandmother, Janet Laughlin (a former freelance reporter for the Trinidad Guardian) of Diego Martin. But she admits that she feels like a tourist -- she has yet to enjoy a Carnival.
Her memories of her native home are mixed. While she remembers her trips "down the islands," it was here that the battle of size began. Laughlin was plump as a child. She started on prescribed diet pills when she was eight years old. After a fainting incident, she was taken off the drug and enrolled in Weight Watchers youth programme.
Laughlin tried all kinds of diets after that. Then she decided to exercise persistently (jogging was her thing) which seemingly got results. What her family did not know was that she fasted every two days while she was working out.
Her weight saga continued when she attended university. But it's her size that got her where she is now. In her course of her battle to stay thin, Laughlin was spotted by a photographer at a health club. He sent her to a model agency and was told to lose 20 pounds. She gave up on the idea and focused on her acting goals.
One day, while picking up her acting headshots, another photographer suggested she go to a model agency that specialized in plus sizes. But paying jobs were few until one Christmas vacation in Miami, a friend told her to try Ford Models' (which merged with Pus Size) satellite office in Miami's booming South Beach section. There, clients desired her look -- an "American with exotic flair." The Hispanic community embraced her and booked her for print and commercial work. The Europeans hired continually for editorial and catalogue jobs. She was one of few American plus models to work for Hennes and Mauritz, one of Europe's biggest retailers.
Laughlin's name became well-known in Miami and she was nicknamed the "Cindy Crawford of plus sizes." By those turns of events, her spirituality and confidence were stronger than ever. She realised that she did not have to be perfect all the time.
She has since shared her experiences with audiences, in particular those who attended the recent opening of the Boston branch of Dress for Success -- a charity which works on women to feel confident in their appearance. "It's not easy to feel confident and secure with your physical self, especially as a woman in our society today. But if your can accept that at this moment right now, this is who you are -- an individual, a person like no other, you can begin to feel love and acceptance for yourself. Those feelings will spring you forward into confidence," she told them. Laughlin has been since named Dress for Success' national spokesperson.
Prior to this, Laughlin wrote to Glamour Magazine and about five other glossies in the hope of encouraging them to focus on representing full figured women. Glamour responded with a fashion spread and an article written by Laughlin in the January 1995 issue.
Currently as a Wilhelmina model in the Ten-20 Division, she created another sensation by gracing the 1997 Summer cover of the second issue of Mode magazine which caters for women who are size 12 and larger. She has zoomed by on the back of New York City buses for Mode's ad campaign. She was also at the bus stops and phone booths.
That experience was a self-revelation she recalled. "The news radiated pure joy in me. I had been on covers of other magazines before, but this was special, as it was the second issue of anew American magazine. Mode's focus was showing beautiful women with bodies who do not apologize for their shape and size, but relish in the sensuality they possess. I am one of those women."
More so, the photographer who was behind the camera that sunny January morning in Puerto Rico could only exclaim "Oh my God, it's incredible! Brigette Bardot, Sophia Loren. Natalie, I have to step away for a moment. Don't move. Don't move. Just beautiful!" Laughlin reached a place in her life where she accepted and felt at peace with her body. The twenty-something model is wearing herself well. She looks through fashion magazines and tries out new styles to keep her wardrobe up to date.
She likes classic looks and at the same time, she is not afraid of being trendy. Dressing up means a long and flowing dress that makes her feel ultra feminine. Then she can be sexy in lingerie that hugs the body and wrap it with a sarong below the hip.
Her next assignment is in Miami, where she will be posing for Haynes. Thereafter, it's off to Anguilla for a collection by Talbot's. It may look like fun, but Laughlin admits, "There is still a lot of work to do, so I have to keep on pushing."
Source: Trinidad Guardian; December 11, 1998