Jade Runk

Jade Runk (born Jennifer Darci May-Corsini;^[4] November 2, 1988) is an American plus-size model. They^[a] are best known for appearing in H&M's Summer 2013 beachwear campaign, which was featured on the front page of H&M's United States website in late April 2013.^[6][7][8][9]

Jade Runk
Born	(1988-11-02) November 2, 1988 (age 36) Georgia, United States
Occupation	Fashion model[1]
Modeling information
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2]
Hair color	Light Brown
Eye color	Blue[2]
Agency	Jag Models,[3] Ford Models,[2] Mother Model Management (mother agency)

Early life

Jade Runk was born in Georgia and later moved to Chesterfield, Missouri. Runk became a Girl Scout at age 5.^[10] As a teenager, they were involved with their high school drama program and worked as a Girl Scout leader. Their family rescued and fostered dogs.^[11] They volunteered for the cat adoption center for Open Door Animal Sanctuary at Petsmart in Chesterfield, Missouri.^[10]

Runk graduated from Parkway West High School in 2007. They graduated from Stephens College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing in 2011.^[1]

Career

Runk was discovered in 2003 at 14 in a PetSmart in Chesterfield, Missouri by Mary Clarke of Mother Model Management while they were volunteering for the cat adoption department.^[11][12] At the time, they were a size 8, in between straight size and plus-size modeling.^[10] The Clarkes told them they needed to either lose weight or gain weight to model. They chose to gain between 10 and 20 lb (4.5 and 9.1 kg) to a size 10–12 to become a plus-size model.^[10][12][13]

They have appeared on Good Morning America and was profiled by Cosmopolitan.^[11]

They initially signed with New York agency Wilhelmina Models in March 2004.^[14] They later switched to Ford Models.^[10] Runk starting modeling full-time in 2011 after she moved to New York City.^[10] Their first major editorial was Body Language in US Vogue's April 2005 Shape issue, which was photographed by Steven Meisel.^[10]

In addition, they appeared twice in Glamour, most notably (in November 2009) nude with six other plus-size models including Ashley Graham, Crystal Renn and Lizzie Miller.^[15] Other editorials include Cosmo Girl in February 2006, Marie Claire in October 2007, and several Seventeen editorials.^[1][12] Runk was also interviewed by Vogue Italia's Vogue Curvy.^[1]

Their beachwear appearance in H&M's Summer 2013 campaign was featured on the front page of H&M's US website in late April 2013 and received extensive media coverage and spread rapidly through blogs and social media.^{[7][8][9][10]} As a result of the coverage, Runk wrote an op-ed piece for BBC on size diversity in fashion and their experiences as a model in May 2013.^[8]

Runk has modeled for many plus size retailers, including two Marina Rinaldi campaigns in 2012.^[16][17] Runk has also walked in several Elena Miro runway shows.

Personal life

Runk lives in New York City. They own a one-eyed cat, Jasmine.^[10] Runk began taking a low dose of testosterone on July 14, 2024.^[18]

Notes

1. Runk is transmasculine and non-binary and uses they and he pronouns.^[5]