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" \n &amp;quot;So much of my life I struggled to fit in, and now that I&amp;#039;m comfortable with myself, all of these things are taking off,&amp;quot; Denise told CFL. Almost a decade later, Bidot has modeled for companies like Nordstrom, Kohl&amp;#039;s and most recently stars in nuvoTV&amp;#039;s reality show Curvy Girls, where she shares her take on the world of plus-size fashion as a model and a single mami. Here, the cover girl shares how to feel sexy and when you should fake it till you make it. Don&amp;#039;t miss the season finale tonight at 10 p.m. on NuvoTV! Why did you decide to join the show Curvy Girls? A few years ago I got approached by the clothing brand Curvy Girls. They were shopping around a reality show and approached me about it. I was looking for new opportunities so I agreed to do it. It&amp;#039;s intriguing to see that it got picked up. They recast the show and brought on Lornalitz, and ever since we met we&amp;#039;ve been best friends. It&amp;#039;s funny how a TV show ended up blossoming this real friendship. Have there been any surprisingly fun or funny moments on the show? I went on my first date in two years on the show. I&amp;#039;m a single mom and a workaholic so this was the first time I had been out in so long. It opened my eyes to what the dating world is. The show has really helped me step out of my comfort zone. How long have you been modeling? Since 2006. I started out doing hair and makeup. When I couldn&amp;#039;t get acting jobs I decided I just wanted to be around the process and behind the scenes. It was shocking to hear I could be a model. This photographer took my pictures and posted them on an online bulletin board. Immediately I started getting emails and phone calls. Amazingly, she uncovered what I didn&amp;#039;t know was a passion. What has this industry taught you? Self-acceptance. In this superficial industry, it&amp;#039;s funny to think it can lead you to find yourself. My first job was a lingerie shoot, and I thought, there&amp;#039;s no way will I be able to do this! But they got me to loosen up. I had a great time, and they took these really beautiful photos. I thought, &amp;#039;This is real\u2014I am beautiful, I do exhibit confidence.&amp;#039; But I&amp;#039;ve also learned that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Have you faced any specific challenges in being Latina and plus sized in this industry? This is a Caucasian-dominated industry. I&amp;#039;m Latina and Middle Eastern. Not a lot of people look like me, and I want to embrace all ethnic cultures and make them feel like they&amp;#039;re included. I once saw JLo&amp;#039;s Behind the Music special, and she said she may not get every role she auditions for but her goal is to make every single person a fan. That stuck with me, and I want to do that every time I see a client. I want them to see my passion and feel my determination. What are some of your fashion secrets?  I&amp;#039;m a big believer in Spanx. I live in them. If you get some good undergarments it really helps. And I know it&amp;#039;s super corny, but how you feel on the inside is how you look on the outside. I think every girl should feel sexy underneath her clothes. Even if you have a hot pink bra on it gives you that extra oomph, you&amp;#039;re going to feel great!  What would you tell a young curvy girl about how to break into the modeling business? Do test shoots with photographers to get your modeling book up to date. If you email bookers directly you can find out about agencies that have open calls. It&amp;#039;s definitely worth it to go to them, see what their response is and get their feedback. You might not be what right for them right now, but you could be. It&amp;#039;s an industry of rejection. You can&amp;#039;t let anyone get you down. But you should keep working on your pictures, knowing your angles, feeling great. You&amp;#039;ll be able to walk in and give them that confidence and they won&amp;#039;t be able to say no. Is there anything you want to share with our readers? As a single mom, I want to say that having a child does not have to be a setback. You can still reach your dreams and teach your kids to reach for their dreams. Growing up, I never realized the possibilities that were out there. No matter what obstacles you may face, that&amp;#039;s just a story or a chapter in your book. And in the end, it&amp;#039;s going to be awesome. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/interviews/a4046/denise-bidot-interview/>