Emme Speaker Biography
Emme: supermodel, television host, best-selling author, lecturer and clothing designer. No wonder People magazine selected her twice as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People. The accolades don't stop there. Ladies Home Journal chose her as one of the Most Important Women in America and one of the Most Fascinating Women of the Year. In addition, she was honored as Glamour magazine's Woman of the Year.
You may know Emme from her days as the host of Fashion Emergency which still lives on E! Entertainment Television and the STYLE network. Always starting trends, Emme, who was signed by Revlon, was the first full-figured model ever awarded a cosmetics contract. Emme is also the first and only full-figured woman to have a doll sculpted in her likeness.
Emme's views set a new standard of beauty both here and abroad. Emme proved that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes when she penned her first book TRUE BEAUTY (Putnam/Perigee) in 1997. Emme's second book entitled, LIFE'S LITTLE EMERGENCIES (St. Martin's Press) was released in 2003.
Emme is a vocal advocate for women and men of all ages to be fit and healthy. Her message is aimed at increasing awareness and raising funds to help treat eating and body image disorders. She was the first model to speak to these issues before a congressional sub-committee in Washington, D.C. Says Emme, We live in a society that is based upon the attainment of unrealistic beauty. I want women to know their self-esteem is not contingent upon their dress size. Emme is the Chair Ambassador of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and is a national ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, serving as the honorary chairperson for the MS Society's cycling series.
Emme continues to lecture at prestigious universities including Yale and Harvard as well as middle and high schools around the country about body image and self-esteem. A graduate of Syracuse University, with a degree in speech communications, Emme speaks on behalf of women who until now have had no voice. Emme asks, Did you know that 67% of American women are a size 12 and over?
Born in New York City, Emme was raised in Saudi Arabia, returning to the US as a teenager. Syracuse University awarded Emme a full athletic scholarship and she became a member of the crew team. Emme is also a member of the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame, where she was inducted for her significant contribution to women's athletics and to the sport of rowing. Emme was invited to the US Olympic Team trials, as well as several US National Team trials. After graduation, she spent two years in Flagstaff, Arizona where she was a reporter and morning anchor for the NBC affiliate KNAZ-TV.
Bring it On...A Cancer Survivor's Story of Action! - Emme reveals her own cancer and its treatments-including the emotional, physical and psychological obstacles that she was driven to overcome. Emme delivers an intimate, proactive view of her battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma. She shares her personal and uplifting journey through the medical maze of cancer highlighting her own efforts to marry conventional medicine with holistic care. Emme discusses her quest for reliable information as well as the healing methods she used in conjunction with her chemotherapy and even her post-treatment. She speaks to the benefits of the additional therapies which helped maintain her vivaciousness and how the combination of conventional and holistic approaches can offset the negative affects of chemotherapy, without affecting the protocol itself.
When Size 0 Is Still Fat! Emme, World's Leading Plus Size Model, Speaks Out - In this program Emme will highlight her personal struggle with her disordered body image and self esteem and the journey she took to make her mind, body and spirit connection whole. She will present the hard facts of where we are as a nation around eating disorders and how that impacts society. Emme will deliver a "how to know you or a friend has an eating disorder." She will outline where to get help on campus, on-line, and also offer a suggested book list. Included in this program is an overview on how to create your own healthy self image and how to be a media watch dog that demands all media outlets deliver the same healthy body image of women.
Moms on the Verge of Green - Since the birth of her daughter in 2001, Emme began to explore ways to reuse and recycle, choosing mass transit whenever possible, and picking up garbage along the Jersey Shore. Emme stepped up her green when she was diagnosed with cancer. Out went all conventional household cleaners, filters were placed on all water sources in her home, green juicing became a daily routine. She embraced a more self-sustainable lifestyle including more carpooling, bus rides and bike riding. You will connect, commiserate and learn from her life lessons while relating to her recycling efforts as the ever growing pile of glass jars, twine, used wrapping paper and hand me downs leaves her screaming, "enough is enough!" (But just for a second!)
