And to think there was a time nobody believed in her!
Ashley Graham made history this month as the first plus-size model on the cover of Sports Illustrated‘s Swimsuit Issue, but this success did not come easily whatsoever.
Related: Ashley Celebrates At Swim BBQ
Ashley recalls the early days of her career and all the rejections she got from agents:
“I had agents tell me, ‘You’ll never get on the cover of magazines. You’ll never be an editorial model.’ I had agents wave money in my face and say, ‘If you drop some pounds, you can have a lot more of this!’ And not even THAT was something that encouraged me to lose weight!
“The moment I realized I had to be healthy and happy in who I was, that’s when my career took off.”
And it took off like wildfire!
Now, the 29-year-old is thrilled to be given the opportunity to be a positive and healthy role model for women:
“I am hopefully going to change the lives of so many different young women. So many young women who have been told that their cellulite is ugly; that their inner-thighs that jiggle and touch are ugly because I have all those things, and I’m on the cover of Sports Illustrated. So they must be beautiful!”
She also credits her mother with raising her to be confident in herself no matter what:
“My mother had instilled a lot of confidence in me. She had said, ‘You are bold. You are brilliant, and you are beautiful.’ And those are the things I had to tell myself again after I had gained weight in a very healthy way. Now I’m really proud of the woman I’ve become, ‘flaws’ and all.”
We’re proud of her too! She’s amazing!
Watch Ashley in her own words (below)!
Check out sexy pics from the swimsuit issue in the gallery (above)!
[Image via WENN.]