Let's Hear It For Healthy Sporty Model Hilary Rhoda

Hilary Rhoda. Most of you know her from her wonderful Estee Lauder cover girl ads. And of course, most men know about Hilary Rhoda from her sexy Sports Illustrated lay-outs. (S.I. 2010, above).

We are celebrating Hilary Rhoda today, because she represents a healthy, sporty model. Okay, sure she is still slender, but certainly not in an emaciated way. Hilary, believe it or not, wears a size 4-6 in the modeling world, with measurements of 34-26-36.5.

She is quite tall at 5' 11" And she has a strong jaw and bold, dark eyebrows. But the 22-year-old model is also muscular and strong, and not going to apologize for it.

"I'm athletic," Hilary Rhoda told one magazine. "I did ballet for a long time growing up. I played lacrosse and field hockey....from the beginning, I knew I wasn't going to change into some emaciated look. Playing sports is my background. I have an athletic build—you can take it or leave it."

Love this girl!

She goes on to give another quote about keeping active:

"Exercise has always been a part of my life from playing tons of sports growing up to now working with a trainer most days of the week. Some people dread going to the gym but I look forward to it every day." Hilary Rhoda says. She went to an all-girls Catholic school, Academy of the Holy Cross, in Kensington, Maryland, where Hilary was quite an athlete, playing basketball and soccer, and was on her school's lacrosse, swimming, and hockey teams.

And even though she is considered one of the rare, 'heavier' models, Hilary Rhoda has walked many a runway. According to her website, it's an impressive list: Designers such as, Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, Zac Posen, Alexander McQueen, Chloe, Hermes, John Galliano, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Stella McCartney, Proenza Schouler, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera and Ralph Lauren.

We're just happy to see a muscular model doing so well in a sea of super slender runway models.