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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SALEM PHD STUDENT AND ADVOCATE CATHRYN MURRAY HARRIS COMPETES FOR NEW YORK FASHION WEEK RUNWAY SPOT AND $20,000 TO FUND WOMEN’S NONPROFIT
51-Year-Old Biracial Model and Author Calls for Votes to Show the World You Can Be “Curvy, Confident, and 51”
SALEM, OR — July 20, 2026 — Cathryn Murray Harris of Salem, Oregon is calling on the public to vote for her in the 2026 Next Runway Star competition, where the winner will walk the runway during New York Fashion Week and receive a $20,000 cash prize.
Harris, 51, is a curvy, tall, biracial model turned author, speaker, and PhD student. She entered the competition to represent women over 50 and prove that age and size are not barriers to confidence or beauty. “I once walked the Tyra Show runway as a slender plus-size woman,” said Harris. “Now I am more confident, older, and beautiful inside and out. I would like to show the world you can be amazing in your 50s.”
From Surviving to PhD Candidate
Harris’s platform is built on lived experience. She has overcome mental health challenges, being unhoused, and criminalization to earn her master’s degree and enter a PhD program. She is currently writing her first book while completing doctoral coursework. “I have risen from the ashes, going through the cocoon stages to becoming a butterfly,” Harris says.
$20,000 Prize to Launch Nonprofit
If selected as the Next Runway Star, Harris will use the $20,000 prize to start a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young women and women coming out of prison, off the streets, and out of the system become independent and confident. Her advocacy focuses on mental health, housing, and ending the criminalization of trauma.
Voting Open Now
Public voting determines who advances to walk at New York Fashion Week. Voting opened today at 9:00 AM EDT. Supporters can vote for Cathryn Murray Harris at: https://nextrunwaystar.com/2026/cathryn-murray
“Hi everyone, I am fabulous and 51,” Harris says. “I love the camera and representing women that are mature and over 50.”
About the Competition
Next Runway Star is powered by Elevate Global, an organization that runs interactive competitions like Next Runway Star and Next Music Star to provide life-changing prizes while generating donations for charities. The 2026 competition benefits Rise, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has helped pass 120 laws and 1 UN Resolution, impacting 112 million lives of sexual assault survivors worldwide.
About Cathryn Murray Harris
Cathryn Murray Harris is a writer, speaker, model, and PhD student based in Salem, OR. She advocates for mental health, the unhoused, and women rebuilding after the system. Learn more at www.cathrynmharris.com.
Media Contact:
For interviews or additional information, visit www.cathrynmharris.com
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To vote: https://nextrunwaystar.com/2026/cathryn-murray
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