Kate Upton channels Marilyn Monroe on the cover of Vanity Fair's 100th anniversary issue and stuns in a one-piece.

While she's now incredibly famous, the 21-year-old model recalled a moment when she was shut down in the industry.

"I'm not going to name names, but one agency told me, 'You're too American, and everybody knows American women are lazy.' I was so offended! I've never been so offended!" she told the magazine. "I was like, 'You know that you're in America, right?' And it wasn't 'American models'-it was 'American women are lazy,' period! I feel like a lot of women would disagree with that."

Kate Upton Photos Over The Years

That wouldn't be the first time the 5-foot-10 beauty faced such treatment. Despite appearing in Victoria's Secret catalogue in early 2011, Upton wasn't considered an ideal model for the brand.

"She's like a Page 3 girl," Sophia Neophitou, the casting director for Victoria's Secret's shows, told The New York Times in an interview in 2012. "She's like a footballer's wife, with too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy."

After Neophitou's famous diss, Upton's photos were nowhere to be found in the magazine. Yet, following the statement, Upton's career boomed and it seems the brand had a change of heart. Over a year after Neophitou's comment, Upton was seen in the back of the magazine in May.

Upton was praised, however, by the most famous fashion magazine in the world. The star covered Vogue's June 2013 issue and aside from being labelled "the hottest supermodel on earth," the magazine's booking editor had even more kind words.

"She is, basically, the Vogue reader," Valerie Boster said to Vogue. "She's got the classic, American girl-next-door, can't-stop-staring at her quality."

She also added, "It's been a long time since we've had what we would call the next supermodel era, and I think Kate Upton is ushering it in. She's a girl that both men and women -- no matter what part of the country they're in -- will recognize and understand. She is larger than life."

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