Debbie van der Putten (born 1985) is a Dutch model who also works in the tourism industry. She is particularly known for her physical disability, after she lost her right arm above the elbow as a result of a bus crash in the south of France in 2005; and as a contestant on

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programmes such as the Dutch show ''Miss Ability'' (2007) and the BBC3 show ''

Britain's Missing Top Model ''Britain's Missing Top Model'' is a British Reality TV modelling show for disabled women, aired on BBC Three. The premiere episode aired on 1 July 2008. The show courted controversy, with many arguing that the show made disability a spectat ...

'' (2008).

Career

Between 1998 and 2002, van der Putten studied Tourism and Catering at De Rooi Pannen, a vocational training college.Debbie Van Der Putten, Linkedin
/ref> Before appearing on ''Britain's Missing Top Model'', van der Putten was the first amputee to be featured in a European edition of '' Playboy'' in 2007, when she modelled nude for the Dutch edition in an issue which broke sales records. In 2008, van der Putten worked in tourism as a career. Since ''Britain's Missing Top Model'' she was part of Angel Sinclair's diversity campaign in London through 'Models of Diversity'. In January 2012, she was signed by the Ben Barry agency in Canada, an agency that has now closed. Barry's agency specialised in diverse models. Sinclair founded the 'Models for Diversity' campaign to promote models that challenge convention. Models for Diversity featured van der Putten on its first billboard campaign, held during the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London. In 2014, Debbie featured in a campaign for the Dutch department store chain De Bijenkorf, although '' The Huffington Post'' noted that she was seen only on the app, while the website showed the same dress worn by a different model. In 2023, she made a comeback posing for

Steve Madden (company) Steven Madden, Ltd., also known as Steve Madden, is a publicly traded company that designs and markets shoes and fashion accessories. Based in Long Island City, New York, the company's brands include Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo, Greats, B ...

in the #tobitefor campaign featuring Dutch television presenter/stylist

Fred van Leer Fred van Leer (born 18 September 1976) is a Dutch stylist and presenter. Van Leer is best known for mentoring and judging on the Dutch television program ''Holland's Next Top Model''. In 2020, van Leer was appointed as host for the Dutch adapt ...

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In various international sources, she has been cited alongside Aimee Mullins as an example of a disabled fashion model.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putten, Debbie van der 1985 births Living people Dutch amputees Dutch female models Dutch people with disabilities Glamour models Models with disabilities People from Helmond