Ashley Graham, a supermodel, body activist is the first plus-size model to grace Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition cover. Graham’s career is the reply to all the denial faced by plus-sized models. Ashley questioned the whole perspective of the modeling industry and went on to be one of the world’s most paid models on Forbes’ 2017 list with her cover on the Sports Illustrated.
Becoming a successful supermodel was never easy for Ashley. The bombshell is now a barrier-breaking body activist, designer, and a successful supermodel. Showing her life as a lesson Ashley motivates women to love who they really are. Ashley always shared her story to make women learn how she herself went from hating her body to loving it.
Body Activist Ashley Graham Transformed The World Of Modeling: The First Curvy Model To Appear On The Cover Of “Sports Illustrated”
But the journey was not so easy. Ashley was someone who struggled with rapid body growth at a very young age and because of this, she had a hard time growing up. So let us peep into the supermodel’s early life before becoming the influencer she is now.
Ashley stated in her memoir that her body started changing early as her breasts quickly grew when she was in the fourth grade. This was followed by unwanted attention from men when she was just 14 years old. She was totally unaware of handling a situation like that at the time. Seeking validation from the opposite sex soon became a need for love for her.
In her memoir, she explained the reason why she had this need for love by quoting “When I had just turned 12, I loved to flirt and be flirted with… It didn’t matter how inappropriate, unsolicited, or confusing it was – any male attention was good attention as far as I was concerned…. I know now, this is because I never got the love and affection I needed from my dad.”
Ashley struggled a lot in her New York years being struggled with drugs and alcohol. The habit developed in her being on her own. But still, she managed to get out of the situation to pursue her dream of becoming a model. She was once told of losing weight to become a successful model. This nearly destroyed her and almost gave up on her modeling career.
Ashley was always a rebel and was not afraid to speak up against the fashion industry. It was only when she changed her perception of herself and modeling standards she broke out and succeeded. Ashley said in an interview “I felt free once I realized I was never going to fit the narrow mold society wanted me to fit in. The fashion industry might persist to label me as plus-sized, but I like to think of it as my-sized.”
