Sadly for those wanting to be a model, height does matter!
There are some famous exceptions of spectacularly beautiful shorter models making it big, but in general in the modelling industry in New Zealand you need to be at least 5 foot 8 inches tall to get regular work.
If you are under this height and want to enter the industry, you will literally have an uphill battle for castings, as you will be lining up for the same jobs as tall and statuesque models who will make you look squat in comparison.
Don’t despair if you are under 18, because you may still grow tall enough to be considered for representation by a modelling agency. A good indication that you may get taller is if your parents and brothers and sisters are tall, or if you have large sized feet for your age.
An alternative may be an agency’s talent or acting pool, as TV commercials and movies don’t have the same rules around height. Height can even work against an actor where they overshadow their fellow actors in a scene.
There are several questions a model agency will ask you and height is always the first. The others are your measurements (if you are a girl), your availability for castings and jobs and your visa status for work in New Zealand.
