Uncover 8 surprising facts about Ashley Graham, plus size icon. Dive into her inspiring journey & influence in fashion. Click for exclusive insights!
Ashley Graham has been an inspiration and role model for many girls and women, especially when it comes to body positivity in a world rife with negative messages about women’s bodies. In honor of this trailblazing beauty and the model inside every woman, here are eight facts about supermodel and confidence queen Ashley Graham.
1. As a child, she was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia and was bullied for it. ‘Being told in the fourth grade that you're dyslexic and you're not going to be able to read properly takes a toll on you, and it really makes you believe you’re dumb’ she told Elle Canada. When children get the attention they deserve, and schools get the funding they need, she says, ‘kids like me who get lost in the system, they could be the next president, they could be the next CEO.’
2. She was just 12 years old when she was scouted at a shopping mall in Nebraska and 15 when she had her first runway show modeling Lane Bryant lingerie. From a young age her looks and developed body got her attention everywhere she went. But it was a bumpy road from teenage model to the superstar she is now. At 18 she almost quit modeling and moved home, but her mother urged her to look at the situation differently. By not comparing herself to others, or trying to fit into their mold, she found strength and freedom.
3. She wrote the book A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like. This is no superficial, salacious memoir about becoming a model, but instead is a book ‘about a complex woman trying to know, respect, and celebrate herself while using that knowledge to help other women do the same’ writes the San Francisco Book Review. A must-read for anyone who has had a difficult childhood, struggles with self-confidence, or needs a serious but friendly pick-me-up. Which is, come to think of it, basically everyone.
4. Ashley uses affirmations to keep her cool and boost her confidence. She was ‘brought up in a Christian household where words had power,’ she told Vogue in an interview. From a young age, she has been able to harness the power of her words to get that much-needed confidence boost. ‘My thing really, truly is affirmations — talking to myself. I might sound like a crazy person, but that's the way I pump myself up’ she told Elle. Her most famous, and most delicious, affirmation is ‘I am bold, I am brilliant, I am beautiful.’ She told Glamour: ‘That’s what gets me out of bed on my hardest days.’
5. In 2016 she made history as the first ‘curvy’ model to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. This was only half of the victory for Ashley, though; the real prize was reaching a goal that she previously thought unattainable, and proving to women everywhere size and shape are no barriers. Having been in Sports Illustrated three times now, she has proven she is here to stay, bodacious curves, cellulite, indefatigable self-confidence and all.
6. Ashley Graham hates the label ‘Plus-Size.’ In her TEDx talk which has almost three million views on YouTube, she talks about the ‘isolating nature of the term plus size.’ She goes on to say ‘we are calling ourselves what we want to be called: women with shapes that are our own. I believe beauty is beyond size. With so much emphasis on the body and external, it's no wonder that we all suffer so much internally.’ Preach it, sister.
7. Mattel made an Ashley Graham Barbie, and she is utterly gorgeous. ‘She got a round belly. She got round hips. She got round everything, yes!’ she exclaims at seeing the final version at the Women of the Year Summit. Working with Mattel, Ashley wanted her Barbie to have ‘zero thigh gap,’ and even picked out which outfit the doll wore. She chose a bedazzled jean jacket and glittery, skintight black dress. ‘Beyond the fashion, it’s so incredible because, now, I’m not striving to be Barbie, I am Barbie. Everyone can be Barbie.’
8. Graham is (finally and thankfully) expanding the world of ‘curvy’ clothing, lingerie and swimsuits with her own lines, and some awesome collaborations. She designs swimwear for the website Swimsuits For All with the mission statement of empowering women and showing off beach bodies, no matter what they look like. Lots of big-name retailers like Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards, and Addition Elle carry Ashley Graham plus-size lingerie, and in collaboration with U.K. brand Pretty Little Thing she has a new sexy and size-inclusive fall fashion line.
Thanks to this trend-setting, body-loving, amazingly self-confident fashionista, women and girls everywhere can learn to be a little more comfortable, a little more self-assured in their own skin.
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