Erika Ervin

Erika Ervin, known professionally as Amazon Eve, is an American transgender model, fitness trainer and actress. She has appeared on the cover of Australian magazine Zoo Weekly and plays a recurring character on "American Horror Story: Freak Show." At 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall, news stories have called her "the world's tallest model."

Ervin was born in Turlock, California, and by age 14 was 5'11". She grew 9 inches taller over the next four years. Ervin attended college in the Bay Area of California and studied theater arts and business management.

Ervin ventured to obtain roles as an actress but gave up on the idea when she was constantly offered roles as an alien or monster. Later she studied law and exercise physiology. Tired of the office life that she had pursued and unhappy with her weight, she joined a gym but strived for an unrealistic size 0 physique that almost resulted in ending her life. Eventually she developed a healthier body image and began to view herself as a super-sized version of Super Woman and became a personal trainer devoted to instilling realistic expectations for herself and her clients. She tours the world participating in height comparison photo shoots and regular modeling jobs and posts her tour on her website.

In 2011 she was crowned the World's Tallest Professional Model by Guinness World Records.

In the September 2013 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, wrote an article, "Carine Roitfelt’s 'Singular Beauties'" with photographs by Karl Lagerfeld. The article includes 25 models and is "an homage to the diversity of women." Among the models are Scarlett Johansson, Carmen Dell'Orefice (82 years old), Gabourey Sidibe and Ervin who is paired with 5'9" Xiao Wen. There is also a video about the making of the article in which Xiao Wen and Ervin appear.

In 2004 Ervin transitioned from male to female, changing her name from William. In interviews Ervin has talked about the problems of being a tall woman. Other topics she has addressed include her troubles growing up dealing with teasing in high school, family problems and her modeling experience.