According to self-determination theory well-being and healthy personality development depend on the fulfillment of three basic psychological needs: autonomy relatedness and competence. However various contextual features can interfere with need satisfaction and undermine well-being. We hypothesized that fashion models who are often valued for superficial reasons (i.e. their looks) and who may not have regular opportunities to cultivate deep relationships or exercise personal control on the job might experience lower psychological need satisfaction less well-being and less optimal personality adjustment. Two studies were conducted in which professional fashion models (N 1?4 56 in Study 1; N 1?4 35 in Study 2) were compared to approximately equally large groups of non-models. Fashion models reported slightly lower need satisfaction and well-being but greater personality maladjustment (personality disorder features). Mediation analyses in Study 1 suggested that the lower well-being among models was explained via unfulfilled basic needs. These findings further substantiate the importance of basic need satisfaction for well-being and optimal adjustment.