Rosie Mercado

Rosie Mercado (born March 28, 1980) is an American plus-size model, celebrity makeup artist, fashion designer, and television personality of Mexican descent. She is best known for starring in the NuvoTV reality television show Curvy Girls and appearing on the National Geographic Channel series Taboo. Over her career, she has worked as a model, media personality, makeup artist, and lifestyle coach advocating for body diversity and self-acceptance.

Mercado was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Riverside, California, before spending most of her life in Las Vegas, Nevada, where her parents moved their business. Coming from an entrepreneurial background, her parents originated from Guadalajara and Zacatecas in Mexico. She attended Bishop Gorman High School, leaving in 1999 as one of five Latino students at the institution. During her youth, she experienced weight-related insecurities and bullying, though she aspired to enter the fashion industry and admired figures such as Jennifer Lopez and Queen Latifah. She later studied Business Management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mercado began working in media at age 15 as an early morning radio host in Las Vegas. She subsequently worked for Telemundo and Univision conducting red carpet interviews with high-profile Latino celebrities, alongside performing voiceover work for national and international commercials in English and Spanish. In 2011, she was featured on National Geographic Channel's Taboo. She later worked as a special correspondent and life coach on the CBS shows Dr. Phil and The Doctors. From 2012 to 2013, she starred in seasons one and two of NuvoTV's reality series Curvy Girls, which documented the daily lives of four plus-size models. In June 2013, she appeared on The Ricki Lake Show to discuss plus-size swim fashion. She also co-hosted the CBS talk show Face the Truth, produced by Dr. Phil McGraw, and published her memoir, The Girl with Self-Esteem Issues, through HarperOne in 2020.

Mercado transitioned into modeling after initially working as a photographer to build her business. After a celebrity photographer encouraged her to model, she pursued the field despite facing initial rejections due to her size. In 2010, she was chosen as the face of Full Figured Fashion Week while weighing over 350 pounds. Alongside her modeling, she built a career as a celebrity makeup artist working in magazines, television, and film. In 2013, she launched her first dress collection celebrating plus-size women.

After her weight reached over 400 pounds and caused mobility issues and embarrassment, Mercado initiated a weight loss journey, reducing her weight to 178 pounds by 2012 and later to approximately 160 pounds by August 2017. Shifting from a size 32/34 to a size 12, she advocates that being overweight is unhealthy and uses her position to encourage women to embrace authentic beauty. Mercado graduated from Tony Robbins Mastery University in 2013. Named one of the top six influential Latinas to follow by Latina Magazine and Univision, she resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles, California, and is the mother of three children born in 2000, 2006, and 2007.