Esteemed African-American Plus Size Entrepreneur, Jamila Choyce is the owner of Choyce International Plus Size Model Management, which is the first licensed and bonded agency geared toward Plus Size Talent in California.
In 2010, after being laid off as an elementary school teacher, she embarked upon the world of acting and eventually plus size modeling. At a blazing 5’9’ and size 16 she did not fit into Hollywood stereotype of beauty. Although she landed a few commercials, court shows, and pilots, her acting headshots was the key to open the door to her new career.
After being signed with three talent agents and driving from Northern California to Southern California, she wanted more! She felt the same frustration and anguish of other plus size talent. In 2011, the door of plus size modeling was thrusted open when submitted to a talent agency for plus size models. She began writing a column for a plus size publication and started her own talk show interviewing plus size designers and models. As a plus size model, she was very active making television and radio appearances as well as producing, styling, designing for live fashion shows. Most notably, her first national television exposure was on the “Queen Latifah” talk show in New York.
In 2016, amazingly it seems that simultaneously ChoyceTV.com and PlusSizeCasting.com was formulated. ChoyceTV.com is an international 24/7 Live Streaming Broadcast entity. PlusSizeCasting.com is a casting website geared towards plus size talent.
As a journalist, she has published over 300 articles from plus size fashions, domestic violence, to celebrity interviews worldwide including Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean. In 2017, Choyce has been appointed as Editor-In-Chief, as Courbee’ Revolucion’ Magazine (meaning curvy revolution in Italian) which showcases and celebrates women with curvy body from all over the world. In addition, she is writing the “Plus Size Model Survive Guide” and has designed a collection of African inspire garments using Ankara fabrics. In April 2017, she received her talent agent licensed from the State of California.
The plus size market is growing immensely. The plus-size market grew 6% year-over 2016, with sales reaching $21.4 billion. The average woman in America is a size 14 (plus sizes are typically between sizes 14 and 34). However, in the fashion industry plus size starts at a size 8 and up. Yet retailers barely cater to this crucial demographic. If roughly 60 percent of the population is considered overweight, for argument's sake, let's say half of that number is women. So, of the estimated 310 million people in the United States, we can extrapolate that roughly 93 million are female shoppers in the double-digit size range.