Watch CBS News

Former Victoria's Secret Angel Cautions Young Girls About Modelling

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A former Victoria's Secret Runway Angel, who chucked the whole thing for angels of a different sort, is warning young girls and their parents to beware of modeling.

Kylie Bisutti beat out 10,000 young women to be a Runway Angel. Even at age 19 when she did that she already had misgivings about her profession. But she says she was attracted by the fame and money, but the downside proved too steep...

"I went into it thinking I could do it smart, and that didn't really work," Bisutti says. "That didn't last long. I was immediately pressured to lose more weight. I was pushed up against a wall by a photographer who tried to touch me and kiss me."

Three years later, she was out, her own choice.

"Obviously, modeling is a very lucrative career," Bisutti says, "but God had changed my heart so much that I didn't care about the money any more. I didn't care about the fame any more."

Instead of striding the runway, Bisutti uses that fame, through personal appearances and a memoir "I'm No Angel," to urge teenaged girls to not follow the first part of her career, due to the leering of men, the pressure of the business to lose weight and the provocative posing.

When asked if there is any safe or smart way to get involved in this, Bisutti says "no."

Bisutti may seek the spotlight again, on her own terms, through a line of more modest clothing worn by more realistically proportioned models.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.