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Top 12 ModelS: The Rosario Twins TWO Is Better Than ONE
A federal penitentiary is probably the last place you’d expect to stumble upon a modeling contract. But for identical twins Melinda and Melissa Rosario, the unexpected is reality. The 22-year-old stallions originally from Hyattsville, Maryland had never modeled professionally a day in their life, but the pictures they sent their incarcerated father just so happened to catch the right eye. “We would send pictures to our father in prison all the time and all his inmate friends would try to steal them,” laughs Melissa. “Our pictures made our dad really popular in prison,” adds Melinda. And as serendipity would have it, the twins’ father was incarcerated with Big Gates, who became a fan of the girls as well. After discovering that Melinda and Melissa were huge Plies
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fans, Gates arranged for his brother to send autographs to Coleman Correctional Facility’s favorite daughters. Eventually, the South Florida mogul asked the college coeds to join his newest endeavor, Top 12 Models, and they happily accepted the offer. “We don’t know much about modeling,” says Melissa. “But [Big Gates and Top 12] are really nice people, and they wouldn’t make us do anything we wouldn’t want to do. Everything is very professional with them.” Among the many perks of being models, the former Hard Rock Café waitresses enjoy meeting new people and being exposed to so many exciting adventures. “We’ve met so many interesting people with different personalities,” says Melinda. “Things that we normally would’ve never been able to do, we got to do because of modeling.” “And taking pictures is fun too,” adds Melissa.
While the sisters are literally identical in almost every physical aspect, their taste in men couldn’t be more dissimilar. “We’re not into the same kind of guys at all,” admits Melissa. “Melinda likes bad boys and I’m into the nice ones. I go more for personality and professionalism.” And though the twins may be flirtatiously playful, professionalism is certainly a quality they employ in their own careers as models as well. Despite the fact they might one day pivot into acting, their current focus is on the task at hand. “Big Gates thought we should take acting classes because that would make us a little more versatile,” explains Melinda. “And if we feel like we’re good at it and like acting, that might end up being a career switch, but right now we’re just modeling.” Words by Eric Perrin