The Stunning Transformation Of Kate Upton

Celebrity powerhouse Kate Upton is known for a certain all-American, girl-next-door quality. That is, if your next door neighbor happens to be a super hot supermodel. Since breaking into the modeling world as a teen, the Michigan-born beauty has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's coveted swimsuit edition four times, was the face of a Guess campaign, and has appeared on the covers and in the pages of numerous other publications. While there are plenty of models who would live happily ever after on that level of success alone, Upton used it as a launching pad to catapult herself into the film industry where it quickly became apparent that she was more than just a pretty face.  

Over the years, Upton has continued to grow and take on new challenges. Her stunning transformation has included adding entrepreneur to her resume, along with the titles of wife and mother. Perhaps the most impressive part of Upton's evolution, however, is how she has gone from a young model easily hurt by negativity and other people's opinions of her body into a woman confident in her curves. She uses her celebrity status for good, advocating for body positivity and inclusivity within the fashion industry and serving as an inspiration to women of all shapes and sizes. "People told me I couldn't be fashion, that I'm just an old-fashioned body girl, only good for swimwear," she once told The New York Times. "But I knew that I could bring back the supermodel."

Some models start their careers on catwalks. Katherine "Kate" Elizabeth Upton, daughter of Shelley and Jeff Upton, started hers on horseback. Born in 1992,  Upton's career path was charted, whether she knew it or not, when her family moved from Michigan to Melbourne, Florida, in 1999.  There, she began what would become a lifelong love affair with horses and a career that would eventually make her a household name. 

An accomplished equestrian, Upton and her horse Roanie Pony competed at a national level, winning multiple awards, including three American Paint Horse Association (APHA) Reserve World Championships and a 13-and-Under Reserve All-Around Champion title. But it wasn't just her horsemanship that drew attention. Her stunning looks, even then, garnered the attention of scouts who tried to lure the 12-year-old out of the saddle and into the world of professional modeling. Although she didn't jump right away, Upton eventually made the switch, calling on what she had learned as a successful equestrian to become a successful celebrity.  "It gave me certain tunnel-vision when it came to my goals," she told Coveteur, adding that it also helped her to toughen up and tune out the "neigh sayers" (pun intended) who would later body shame the model.  "It helped me in the sense of ignoring little comments to my face, but when I saw critique in articles or blogs, generally online, it was harder," she admitted.

As she got older, Kate Upton could no longer ignore the allure of the modeling world. She attended an open call in Miami for Elite Model Management when she was 15 and was instantly signed. She began getting regular bookings, some of which required the teen to travel. "I had really great clients and was constantly working, " she told Coveteur, adding that her parents were supportive, but they made sure their daughter understood that modeling was not going to be a fun hobby or one big glamorous party. "My parents made it clear to me I couldn't just float around and travel, I had to make a career out of it, so I had a very clear path," Upton said. 

That path included a wish list of companies she'd like to work with, from Guess to Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated. Proof that there's power in manifestation, she has landed work with all of them throughout the course of her career, along with many other iconic brands. As a testament to her professionalism, strong work ethic, and obvious physical attributes, many of those brands became repeat customers. Sports Illustrated, for example, first featured the buxom, bikini-clad blonde in its pages in 2011 and then on its cover four times. 

There was no doubt about the fact that by the age of 18, Kate Upton was a highly successful working model. She had been tapped as the face of a Guess campaign and had appeared in her first Sports Illustrated swimsuit spread where she was deemed "Rookie of the Year."  But although her image was everywhere, relatively few knew her name. Interestingly, it wasn't her sultry spreads and coquettish campaigns that changed that pushed Upton into the superstar stratosphere. It was her dance moves. 

While attending a Los Angeles Clippers basketball game Upton shot and posted a video of herself dancing to the popular Cali Swag District song "Teach Me How to Dougie." The video went viral and Upton became part of the cultural phenomena of fame via social media. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary, with Upton landing a contract with IMG Models and appearing on multiple magazine covers, including the first of her four SI Swimsuit editions. However, there were those who were skeptical of whether or not she could cut it in the world of haute couture. "When Kate first came in, everyone at the agency thought I was crazy," Mr. Bart, the "superagent" who heads IMG Models, told The New York Times. "She wasn't 'fashion' enough." He disagreed. "Kate is bigger than fashion,"  Mr. Bart said. "She's the Jayne Mansfield of the Internet."

Even with a top modeling agency behind her, Kate Upton wasn't immediately embraced by the fashion world. At a time when runways were dominated by pencil-thin models strutting their stuff, the girl who once had to stuff her bra suddenly stood out for her curves. Even the figure-flaunting company Victoria's Secret wouldn't put Upton in their famous fashion show, using her only for catalog work. The company's casting director Sophia Neophitou explained in 2012, per Harper's Bazaar, saying, "She's like a footballer's wife, with the too-blonde hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy." Upton retaliated by joining the voices criticizing the famous lingerie fashion show for its lack of body inclusivity, calling the event "a snoozefest" on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." 

Rather than buckle under the pressure to be a certain size, Upton listened to the throngs of supporters who have thanked her for showing a curvy, healthy body that they can relate to. Upton continues to use her supermodel status to encourage the industry to embrace all women, and the editor-in-chief of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, MJ Day, told the magazine that he considers Upton "a catalyst for the evolution of the brand."

With her stunning photogenic beauty, not to mention her comfort in front of a camera, making the leap from magazines to movie screens seemed like a no-brainer for Kate Upton. She soon discovered that her modeling career actually made the transition more difficult. "There's not a lot of artistic respect for modeling. I felt like I had to start from the bottom again, which I didn't mind, and I was thrilled to have done the hard work prior," she told Coveteur. 

It may have felt like square one, but Upton quickly proved she could rise to the challenge. She nabbed her first major role alongside such heavy hitters as Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Matthew Broderick in the film "Tower Heist" and followed that up with a part in "The Three Stooges."  In perhaps her most recognizable role, Upton joined Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann in "The Other Woman, a girl-power story about three women who band together to get revenge on the man who's playing them. The camaraderie the trio experienced on-screen translated into real life for Upton. She had nothing but praise for her co-stars, telling E! News, "You know what? They helped me in every way," she revealed. "My life, and you know, how to feel confident in creating the role and being the character." Today, Upton seems to have shifted her focus from the screen to her roles as wife, mother, and model.

When Kate Upton commits to something, she gives it her all. That may explain why, when she decided to put her attention into acting, she left IMG models to try and build her movie career. With a few films under her belt, Upton decided to return to the place where it all began, inking a new modeling contract with Next Model Management after a nearly three-year hiatus. "Kate is unquestionably a bombshell, but she is also representative of today's modern woman," Faith Kates, owner of Next, and Kyle Hagler, president of Next NY, told British Vogue. "Her beauty, intelligence, ambition, business acumen, and approachability is everything Next Management celebrates."

Upton has proven to be far more than just a pretty face and bodacious body. She has taken a career that was once focused solely on a nearly impossible ideal and turned it into something more accessible to the every woman. She has successfully married modeling and celebrity together, taking full advantage of social media to create the Kate Upton brand and give a real glimpse into her everyday life. As she once told Vogue about her social media presence, "I think this kind of gives me, as a model, a personality that people can connect with." Her more than six million Instagram followers and thousands of YouTube subscribers would probably agree. "What can I say?" she asked The New York Times. "I'm relatable."

One of Kate Upton's first major modeling gigs was as the face of the popular Guess brand. While it served as a springboard for her career, it also served as a harsh lesson in what can happen to young, beautiful talent in the modeling industry. Upton broke her silence on what went on behind the scenes of her Guess campaign during the #metoo movement when she called out creative director Paul Marciano for subjecting her to sexual harassment when she was only 18. Upton's claims included repeated groping, kissing, verbal abuse, and other unwanted advances from Marciano. She also alleged that she was fired from the campaign after she denied Marciano's multiple requests to come to her hotel room one evening. "Someone had called my agency to say I had gotten fat and would not be needed on set [that day]," she told Time. Upton was ultimately asked to return, but she said the harassment continued and took such a toll on Upton's self-esteem that she considered leaving the industry. Fortunately, she found the strength to continue, thanks in large part, she said, to "the strong support of my family and close friends."  

Marciano denied Upton's allegations in a statement to Time, calling her accusations "preposterous." The company disagreed and, after an investigation into the matter, determined Marciano was guilty of improper conduct, and he stepped down from his role with the company he co-founded. 

When Justin Verlander laid eyes on Kate Upton in 2012 while shooting a commercial for the "Major League Baseball 2K12 Video Game," the Houston Astros pitcher knew he had to pitch a date — and he didn't strike out. Despite a brief breakup early in the relationship, the model/actress and the pro ball player dated for five years before making it legal at a medieval church in Italy in 2017. That was the same year that the Astros won the World Series, so you could say Verlander was knocking it out of the park in all areas. However, that big win almost caused a big problem with the nuptials when it went into game 7, causing the bride and groom to miss the first few hours of their wedding festivities.

"Everybody's in Italy, everyone's at the venue," Upton told People. "We had an event that night, and everyone's texting us like, 'Your wedding's so pretty, wish you were here.'" Verlander added, "We got taken around our wedding via FaceTime."

Fortunately, the Astros sealed the series, and Verlander and Upton made it to the Italian venue in time to seal the deal in what was a whirlwind week. "It's such a crazy dream-come-true moment, and two of those happened within a span of a couple days," Verlander gushed. "Two life-changing events happened in the same week; it just doesn't happen like that too often.

When life hands you grapes, make wine! That's what Kate Upton did when, while in Europe, she discovered a taste for red wine and decided to buy a vineyard. She and her husband, Justin Verlander, are co-owners of Immortal Estate, a vineyard in the Mayacamas mountains specializing in Cabernets. The couple got into the venture after traveling to Napa and falling in love with the wine culture. "Going to Napa completely changed our experience with wine," Upton told Wine Spectator. Learning about how it was made, and the culture in Napa ... To their core, everyone there is a farmer, and they have this love of wine. There is such a strong community there — there's a sharing of wine and information. We were hooked."

The pair forged a friendship with Tim Martin of Tusk Estates in Napa, who proposed the idea of taking over Hidden Ridge vineyard and rebranding it to Immortal. Upton and Verlander jumped at the chance. "I think we were probably the easiest sell," she said. "We have a real love for Napa, wanted to find a way to become involved, but also wanted to make sure it was the right team and the right wine." Although still new-ish to the wine game, Upton said that the couple has a wine cellar in their home filled with a nice variety. "It's one of my favorite places in our home," she said. "Wine really brings people together." 

It was a party of three when Kate Upton and Justin Verlander welcomed Genevieve "Vivi" Verlander into the world just three days after their first wedding anniversary. Going from supermodel to supermom was a big transition for Upton, who said she, like moms everywhere, felt the pressure to present a "picture-perfect" life. In an Instagram post featuring a beautiful photo of "The Other Woman" star nursing her baby girl, Upton explained, "I tried to push myself early to get back to the gym, eat perfectly and try to achieve this alleged 'snap back.' But, after realizing how ridiculous these pressures are I quickly gave myself some slack and lived in the moment as a new mother."

Growing up with not one but two famous parents is a lot for anyone, but so far, Vivi seems immune to the public interest. In fact, Upton shared with E! News that her little girl once thought that her mom was a tennis player and her dad was a golfer. "She knew I would go play tennis for fun. So I guess because Justin is athletic and plays baseball, she's like, 'That's a job!'" Upton told People that she loves watching her daughter grow and become her own person, adding that she already has a fierce sense of style. "I think she has better style than Justin and I, so she picks out all her own clothes," she said.