View the photos below, and click here to watch a behind-the-scenes video from Riley’s shoot.

In a behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot, Gabby talks about the amazing opportunity she’s been given, and how she worked to keep the character of Precious true to the one presented in “Push.” Click here to watch the video

Here’s how the magazine describe’s Gabby’s article, which appears on page 110:

In a league of her own, she has definitely defied the “classic beauty” image in today’s movie industry. Yet, she possesses the kind of inner strength, courage and freedom that most of us would love to call our own. “I wake up with myself every morning, so the only opinion that really matters is mine,” says Sidibe.

The image issue of Ebony is on newsstands now.

Image courtesy Models.com/V Magazine

CNN has published an interesting piece, examining whether 2010 will be the year plus size models become more than just a trend. Is this the ‘year of the plus’ they ask?

It’s a good question. There have been two high-profile magazine spreads featuring larger models in recent months. The first, from Glamour, included Crystal Renn, Amy Lemons, Ashley Graham, Kate Dillon, Anansa Sims, Jennie Runk and Lizzie Miller, all in the buff. Then, in V Magazine‘s January issue, several more plus size models were shown both nude and clothed. The pictorials received a lot of attention and positive feedback from readers. So are agents and models gearing up for more business?

Yes and no, according to CNN.

The network quotes one model who said she has seen more work.

Krista Mays, a size 12 model who has already graced Glamour’s pages for editorials on finding the perfect pair of jeans, is optimistic that this year, the trend will stick. “The work is picking up — I do agree that 2010 is going to be the ‘year of plus.’ The industry is constantly growing,” Mays said.

However, long-time agents have seen spikes of interest in plus size models before.

V magazine’s issue proclaims that big is in, but [agent Aida] Brigman said it is doubtful that these splashes of acceptance in the fashion world will translate into having more than one major runway show for plus-size models. Remember, she cautioned, this has all happened before. “In the late ’90s and early ’00s, [plus-size] was supposed to hit big and it didn’t,” she said. “Grace and Mode [magazines] didn’t survive; the Lane Bryant fashion show ended. We live in a country where it’s a trend for five minutes and that’s it.”

Another interesting point brought up in the CNN piece: Why are these photo spreads so obsessed with nudity?

“We don’t have to take our clothes off for you to be able to see that we’re plus-size,” Ashley Stewart says to CNN.

Models.com/V Magazine

Models.com has posted several photos from the much talked-about plus size photo shoot of V Magazine. The images are from the magazine’s size issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 14. The plus-size models are both clothed and nude, and they are beautiful. The pictures are from a feature called Curves Ahead. Click here to see more

The V plus size issue January issue will feature uber-popular Crystal Renn, along with other plus-size models, both clothed and nude, says Page Six.

The article quotes V editor-in-chief Stephen Gan as saying, “Big, little, pint-size, plus-size — every body is beautiful. And this issue is out to prove it.”

But the folks at New York Magazine aren’t impressed. Calling the casting of plus-size models “a trend,” Amy Adell writes:

Like giving nonwhite models a fair shot at landing runway shows, ad campaigns, and editorials, casting plus-size models shouldn’t be so out there that it becomes an item to ooh and ahh over in “Page Six.” After all, plus-size models are really just normal-size people deemed “plus” by fashion’s extreme standards.

I have to admit: she has a point. If it’s a big deal to spotlight gorgeous women with attainable bodies, then America’s standards of beauty are at the very least a little screwed up.

Or a lot screwed up, as is the case with designer Karl Lagerfield: “No one wants to see curvy women. You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly.”

Looking for a reason to buy Glamour magazine this month? The November issue  features a beautiful photo of seven of the world’s most popular plus-size models, unabashedly nude.

The shot includes Crystal Renn, Amy Lemons, Ashley Graham, Kate Dillon, Anansa Sims, Jennie Runk and Lizzie Miller.

The shoot, according to the Glamour article, was a little different than many fashion shoots. “Gosh, it’s so nice that they’re feeding us,” Lemon said to the magazine. “When I was doing runway, all I was ever offered was water and champagne, all day long.”

Accompanying the photo is a long article titled “These Bodies are Beautiful at Every Size,”
about the movement to use more normal-sized models in fashion. It details the genesis of the photo, which was inspired by the response to a small photo of a naked Miller that appeared in the magazine’s September issue. Apparently, it hit a nerve with readers.

Why did this particular picture, at this particular moment, resonate with so many women? Some possible reasons: The recession has us all in a back-to-basics, tell-it-like-it-is mood, so realer images of women’s bodies seem appropriate now. Celebrities like Kate Winslet, Jessica Simpson and now, on page 182 of this issue, Scarlett Johansson have spoken out against a culture that nitpicks a woman’s every thigh dimple. First Lady Michelle Obama dresses to accentuate rather than camouflage her regal curves, and has the entire world swooning.

The photo was unveiled on The Ellen Degeneres show today. Four of the models pictured were on the show to discuss the picture — and why what you and I consider “plus” isn’t the definition the industry uses. Click here to watch.

You can check out the Glamour article here. Or show ‘em you support their choice by purchasing the issue — which features Scarlett Johansson on the cover — at the newsstands. Maybe if this issue is a hit, more magazines will feature real women.