Barbara Brickner

Why She’s Revered

• One of the first true global “plus size” models
• Timeless beauty

Barbara Brickner, hailing from Seattle, was arguably the most popular “plus size model” before people like Ashley Graham, Hunter McGrady and Kate Wasley had risen to fame as figureheads of the industry.

Barbara’s Representation and Clients

Representation:

• Ford Agency (New York)
• Heffner Agency (Seattle), where she was discovered by agency president Bill Heffner
• Campbell Agency (Dallas)
• Giovanni Models (Montreal)
• Wolf Models and Brigitte Models (Germany)

International clients:

• Elena Miró (Italy)
• Reitmans (Canada)
• Happy Size, Bon Prix, and Adler (Germany)
• Marks & Spencer (Britain)

U.S. clients included:

• Nordstrom
• Lands’ End
• C.J. Banks
• Kohl’s
• Eddie Bauer
• Catherines
• Macy’s
• JCPenney
• Carnival Creations

What strikes me about Brickner’s client list was that she shot for a huge variety of brands. This is important, and even more so at the time she did so, as she gave the wider public so much more exposure to a “normal sized” curvy body than anyone else at this time.

Just look at the contrast between the above images, where Brickner evokes a sensual, heavenly energy, to the more professional “2000s mom style” modern shoot below.

On top of this, Brickner also appeared in editorials for MODE, Grace, Glamour, and Woman’s World. It’s fair to say, at the turn of the century, Brickner was a busy woman!

Barbara Brickner’s Measurements

• Height: 5 foot 9 inches
• Dress size: 14
• Bust: 38 inches (96cm)
• Cup: D
• Waist: 34 inches (86cm)
• Hips: 43.5 inches (110cm)
• Shoe size: 10.5

Brickner’s Style

With her more slender shoulders, small waist and wider hips (for the time!) Brickner definitely shone in maxi dresses and evening dresses. I don’t think there’s any disputing this was her best look, as the way these dresses just flowed so naturally and elegantly off her figure gave her a real presence in the shoots.

She was also an accomplished lingerie and swimwear model. Looking at some of these shots, Barbara has a steely affirmative gaze that holds your eyes and I just get the impression she is someone who was “wise beyond her years” in many regards. This has caused other commentators from previous generations to label Brickner’s beauty as “timeless” and I would tend to agree with that.

One thing that did, however, strike me is how not plus size Barbara looks in a lot of these! Cue some healthy debate.

Would “Mid-Sized” Brickner Pass as a Plus Size Model Today?

As I’ve learned more about Barbara Brickner, one thing that’s stuck out to me as a potential negative is the way she spoke about size with really more negative connotations of her own, than today’s plus size models would.

Take, for instance, her interview with the Seattle Times where she recalls her soon-to-be agent scouting her.

“He said I should be a plus-size model and I was extremely offended by that,” laughed Brickner. “I didn’t understand what it meant to be a plus-size model and my first conclusion was that `plus size’ meant fat – and that’s not at all true.”

Then, upon meeting her agent at his modeling agency:

“They were just really beautiful people with measurements the same as mine,” Brickner said. “They were calling them plus size but I think `plus size’ is such a negative way of describing a curvy woman.”

This could be generational, but I don’t believe that any fatter models today consider “plus size” a term of abuse. As a whole, I think we’re more comfortable referring to ourselves as “fat” or “plus size” these days, due to role models who would come after Barbara such as Tess Holliday.

There is also an argument to be made that Brickner may not even have had the success she did back then, in 2026. After all, it’s a quarter century on from when she first started modeling, and attitudes have changed. If we take a look at a current up and coming plus size model I recently profiled, Isabella Mercado’s hips are at least 17 inches wider than Brickner’s. Even regular established “plus size” models such as Emma Arletta are at least a size 18 today.

These are just some examples. When looking at the “Fashion Nova Curve” stars of social media like Megan Marie Powers, she dwarfs Brickner in terms of overall body size, and Reese Jade frequently talks about not being afraid to take up space. 

I do not believe Brickner needs to be blamed for looking down on the term plus size, it just highlights an attitude shift and shows women aren’t necessarily afraid to be considered “bigger than curvy” today. Part of this attitude would have been dictated by the stringent standards of the plus size modeling world of the early millennium, which was exposed in a documentary the plus size model Charlotte Coyle did in the UK. Basically, if you were over a size 14 (18 UK) you couldn’t even model. This makes literally zero sense, and thankfully we’ve moved away from these Draconian standards since.

All told, would Barbara Brickner have the same sort of status in today’s plus size social media world? I know several women who would simply call her “mid sized” and leave it there. I understand this, but it’s also important to recognize the doors that women like Brickner and fellow early plus size model Kelsey Olson opened to help this whole movement get momentum. 

She should be applauded as someone willing to step outside what society considered the “comfort zone” and represent what normal sized women look like. The fact she showed her body to so many in such a wide variety of shoots and appearances should be applauded, too.

Brickner, in the Seattle Times article, herself sums up what the movement is about perfectly:

​​”There’s this incredible camaraderie (among plus-size models) and the sense that we’re doing something positive.”

BARBARA BRICKNER