Introducing The Face of Full Figured Fashion Week: Venessa De La Rosa!

Some great news from Full Figured Fashion Week: the winner of The Face of Full Figured Fashion Week has been announced! Congratulations to Venessa De La Rosa!!! Can't wait to meet this beautiful and formidable woman in NYC. It must have been very difficult for the judges with such amazing women in the running, but this Venessa's got it all! :D Here's a bit more about Venessa from the Full Figured Fashion Week webpage:

Congratulations to the winner of the

2012 Face of Full Figured Fashion Week™ Cover Model Search

Ms. Venessa De La Rosa

Venessa Ann De La Rosa, was born in Ft. Lewis, Washington and now resides in Atlanta, GA. Having a father in the military afforded her the opportunity to travel all over the US and abroad with her parents. As a young teen she grew up watching her father perform in the theater. She, too, caught the performing bug and began acting and modeling in high school. It was when Venessa participated in the Miss Teen San Antonio pageant that her dream of becoming a successful model grew into a passion. Her unique onstage presence led to an invitation to be a presenter at the Texas Tejano Music awards where she shared the same stage with the late singer Selena. After graduating high school, Venessa decided to follow her father's footsteps and entered into the US Army where she served four years. After serving her term, she entered into corporate America, working for OfficeMax and then relocating to Atlanta to work for the Home Depot Corporate. In 2007 she decided to return to the modeling industry after being inspired by the ANTM season that featured Toccara Jones. Toccara's resilience and positive affirmation of plus size women inspired Venessa to continue to pursue her modeling career.

Venessa recently landed an appearance in the Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" and "I Can Do Bad All By Myself". She has also appeared on an episode of BET's "Pay It Off", hosted by Kim Coles. She has modeled on Good Day Atlanta with host Clinton Kelly of the TLC show "What Not to Wear". She has been an extra in several TV shows as well as movies, including, "What to Expect When Expecting", with Cameron Diaz and MTVs Teen Wolf. She has been in several fashion shows locally and nationally. This year she was able to accomplish one of goals by walking in Her 1st Fashion Week in New York for the Cotrice Collection. Her most memorable fashion show appearance thus far was the Salute to Barack Obama event which featured Felicia Dietrich designs. It was at this event that Venessa was able to meet Dr. Cornel West, an experience that she will never forget. Venessa was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Nifty Magazine and is featured in an upcoming book entitled I Am Coffee Brown, by Regina Jackson.

While she is grateful for her success in acting and modeling, Venessa has also been faced with several life-altering setbacks that include a battle with cervical cancer, and an unfortunate time when she was hospitalized and unable to walk for several months due to an incident with an epidural injection. However, through her steady faith in God and the ability to remain focused, she has been able to defeat the odds and continues to live life to the fullest.

In Venessa's spare time she volunteers with Hosea Feed the Hungry and also coaches girls AAU & Rec League Basketball. Venessa is also a full-time mother to three beautiful girls and continues to inspire them to live out their dreams.

Special thanks to our panel of judges, Marina Zelner, Tiffany Braxton-Belvin, Madeline Figueroa-Jones and Steffany Bready-Edwards! Your task was definitely challenging and we thank you for your selection.

Congratulations Ms. De La Rosa and we look forward to seeing you on the red carpet at Full Figured Fashion Week in New York City on June 13-16, 2012!