Born and raised in the island of Jamaica, Tessenie always enjoyed reading Essence and Ebony magazines to see beautiful women whose body type was similar to hers. As a gifted scholar who graduated from university at the tender age of 19, Tessenie began working in the hospitality field where she supervised the cost accounting team; “I knew I was unhappy when I used to cry every morning before going to work.” She decided to research international opportunities and eventually made the big leap to relocate to Canada. Tessenie was casted for the International Fuller Woman Expo Canada 2012 by chance- the audition date had already passed however the Director still asked her to come in. “I have never dreamed of becoming a plus size model because I did not think I had what it takes to be a model” With a ‘why not’ go getter attitude, Tessenie trained with more experienced models until she was comfortable enough to show confidence on the runway. Being booked for 7 out of 8 designers at the expo was all the motivation she needed to explore opportunities for plus size models in Toronto. “After the expo; I knew I could do it….so I did”.

Wanting to continuously evolve and do more for the plus size fashion community, Tessenie is now looking into being signed with an agency and working with other experienced photographers and designers to update her portfolio. Her humble, charming no nonsense attitude has pushed her to becoming one of Toronto’s top plus size models with a strong social media presence.