A young Arbroath woman who suffers from a debilitating medical condition has taken big steps towards her ambition of becoming a front page cover model.
Catriona Rennie, better known as Cat, was celebrating after being signed up by the Manequin Model Agency and being selected as a finalist for Miss Edinburgh 2010. She already holds a regional Miss Earth title.
The 23-year-old former barmaid struggled in her early days of modelling and is often laid low by bouts of chronic pelvic pain, but her determination has seen her blossom in more ways than one.
Originally from Salisbury, Cat moved to Arbroath 14 years ago and, despite a recent flit to Edinburgh for work, considers Arbroath her home.
”Wouldn’t it be great if a wee lassie from a Scottish fishing town made it on to the cover of Vogue!” she laughed.
Her first steps into modelling three years ago were fraught by setbacks but Cat’s perseverance certainly looks to be paying off.
”My first photoshoot was in March 2007 in London,” explained Cat. ”It was not what I had expected and was a terrible experience.
“The images I received were unusable and felt that I had wasted my time, effort and money.
”I gave it another go a few months after with Scottish photographers after joining a website called Model Mayhem. These experiences were better and enjoyed them a lot more.
”Because of my height not being industry standard for fashion, I kept getting knocked back time after time by a lot of photographers, which made my confidence hit rock bottom.