- Born
- Birth nameKatherine Elizabeth Upton
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Katherine Elizabeth Upton was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, to Shelley Fawn (Davis), a state tennis champion from Texas, and Jefferson Matthew Upton, a high school athletics director. Her uncle is Michigan congressman Fred Upton. Upton always knew she wanted to be a model. Since signing with IMG Models in 2010, Kate has taken the world by storm. For the past two years, Kate has graced the cover of the legendary Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, which has led to an onslaught of media buzz about the 21-year-old. Kate's stardom was elevated to an even higher level with her June 2013 American Vogue cover shot by Mario Testino, whose byline proclaims "American Dream Girl: How Kate Upton Became the Hottest Supermodel on Earth." She has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Ellen Show, The Late Show, Saturday Night Live, The Dan Patrick Show, and Le Grand Journal, and continues to be one of the most searched-for names on Google.
Beyond Sports Illustrated, Kate has been featured on the covers of Vogue Italia, British Vogue, CR Fashion Book, Cosmopolitan, French ELLE, GQ, Italian GQ, German GQ, Jalouse, Sunday Times Style, Esquire, The Daily, and Muse Magazine. She has appeared in fashion editorials for American Vogue, Vogue Spain, V Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and Russian Interview, and has worked with photographers such as Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Terry Richardson, Alasdair McLellan, Bruce Weber, Sebastian Kim, Guy Aroch, Matt Jones, Miguel Reveriego, Norman Jean Roy, Josh Olins, Gilles Bensimon, Yu Tsai, Sebastian Faena, Walter Iooss, Ellen von Unwerth, and Stewart Shining. A favorite of high-fashion notables such as Stephen Gan, Tonne Goodman, Carlyne Cerf, Carine Roitfeld, and Katie Grand, Kate was also shot for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" Exhibition Catalogue in 2012. Models.com exclaims, "The sexy market just got a little more competitive thanks to the meteoric rise of Kate Upton. The Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition was a major coup, but the momentum keeps building with cover after cover. We can't remember the last time a newbie made such a splash!"
Kate's YouTube video of her dancing to Cali Swag District's "Teach Me How to Dougie" last year was the number one watched video on Twitter and Google for multiple weeks. She has an enterprising reputation for creating viral hits, and the clip has over 8 million views.
Known for her vivacious personality and incredible physique, Kate has been the face for Sam Edelman, Accessorize, Guess Lingerie, Guess Jeans, Guess Accessories, Liverpool, Dylan George, and Dooney & Burke. She has also worked with Gillette, Skullcandy Headphones and Beach Bunny Swimwear, even designing a Beach Bunny Swimwear collection herself. She has starred in commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Carl's Junior and Sobe, and starred in The Other Woman (2014), by director Nick Cassavetes.
Kate resides in New York City. Kate is a five-time world champion equestrian, and she enjoys hanging out at the barn, horseback riding, and is an avid sportsfan.- IMDb Mini Biography By: IMG Models
- SpouseJustin Verlander(November 4, 2017 - present) (1 child)
- ChildrenGenevieve Upton Verlander
- ParentsShelley Fawn DavisJefferson Matthew Upton
- RelativesFred Upton(Aunt or Uncle)
- Mole above her lip
- Her photo shoot for the 2013 "Sports Illustrated" Swimsuit Issue was the first ever fashion shot in Antarctica. Due to the cold, they could not film for more than a minute at a time, and after the shoot had temporary trouble with her hearing and eyesight, which are serious symptoms of hypothermia.
- Was a competitive equestrienne in the American Paint Horse Association, winning five Reserve World Championships. She won four championships with her horse Roanie: 13 and Under Western Riding, 13 and Under Horsemanship, 13 and Under Reserve All-Around Champion, and 14-18 Western Riding. She won a fifth championship with her horse Colby: 14-18 Western Riding.
- Great-granddaughter of Frederick Upton, one of the co-founders of the appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. Her uncle is Congressman Fred Upton, who has represented Michigan in Congress since 1987.
- Was the flip-side cover girl of the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which was the first time the concept was used Sports Illustrated. Part of her photo shoot was done on the airplane G-Force One which uses steep dives to simulate zero gravity conditions.
- Started modeling at age 15.
- [on negative remarks about her figure from pro thinness web blogger] I'm not going to starve just to be thin . . . I want to enjoy life and I can't if I'm not eating and miserable . . .
- I grew up in Florida riding horses, so for the majority of my life I was either in boots and jeans or a bathing suit. I understand why my male followers like me . . . It's like any job. You find your strengths and play them up.
- I want to be able to sing well, but I have the worst voice in the world. I really wanted to be a pop star like Britney Spears, but I can't.
- [on being able to tell if a guy just likes her as a model or who she is in real life] I feel like a have a very strong personality, and they either really like it or they can't stand me. So I feel like they weed themselves out on their own, like "She's pretty . . . but she talks a lot.".
- It [body odor] definitely happens more often than you would think when someone comes up and you're like "He's really attractive and seems really nice," and it just doesn't work if he smells bad.
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