Changing the Way We Think About Our Bodies: Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham made history as the first plus-size cover star of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 2016. While her rise to fame seemed abrupt for Ashley it was recognition for a lifetime of hard work and adversity. Ashley was born on October 30, 1987 in Lincoln Nebraska. Her father was a database marketer and her mother was a homemaker. Ashley formed a close bond with her sisters from a young age. 

However, her life was far from perfect growing up. She hit puberty in fourth grade which made her experience a lot of sexual abuse. She was a victim of body shaming and was called “thunder thighs” due to her oversized thighs. She soon developed issues due to this abuse. She was diagnosed with both ADHD and dyslexia.
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Graham as a young girl

At 12 she was spotted by a talent agent at a local mall in Nebraska who suggested that she send some of her photos to a modeling agency. This was the start of her career. 
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Ashley posing in one of countless photoshoots

Her parents today are supportive of her career but it was not always this way. One of the lowest points of Graham’s life occurred when she turned 15. After being discovered by a modeling agent at a mall her dad suggested that she needed to lose weight in order to reach any success in the industry. Graham recalls, “The really hard moment was when my dad said, ‘Honey, if an agent is telling you to lose weight, then maybe you should lose weight,'” Graham said. “I was 15, standing in our living room having a moment I will never forget. I never had a parent tell me to lose weight and it hurt.” However, unlike her father, her mother was supportive the whole time. She supported her size and pushed her to become a pioneer in the curvy model movement. Graham remembers fondly her mother telling her “You’re like all of the women in our family. You’re like so many women in the world.”

In the beginning of her career Graham did struggle because of her weight. For the first few years she booked jobs to be a catalogue girl but was repeatedly told that she would never go beyond that. But there was one job Ashley remembers most clearly that motivated her to defy her doubters. In an with Glamour she says “When I was 17 or 18 years old, I was doing a group shot for this really big campaign, and one girl, who was probably a size two said to me, ‘Did you actually get paid for this job?’ I remember thinking, She’s asking me because I’m fat…. It's one of those things I will never forget.”
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​Shortly after this experience she signed with IMG models and suddenly her career rapidly picked up. One of her first big breaks was in 2007 when she was profiled by Sally Singer of Vogue magazine. Two years later she appeared in a Glamour editorial that became hugely influential for plus size women in the industry titled “These Bodies are Beautiful at Every Size.” 

An amazing, inspirational speech that Graham delivered.

​In 2010 she made an appearance in Bust magazine and became involved in many Levi’s and Marina Rinaldi campaigns. After years of success in 2015 she appeared in Sports Illustrated as part of the Swimsuit for All campaign and the next year was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition becoming the first plus sized model to do so in history. 

​Today she continues to work to show all people that they are beautiful no matter their size. When asked about her work Graham responds by saying, “I am really trying to make a change not only in the fashion industry but in the world.”​

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Sources:
https://www.revelist.com/celebrity/ashley-graham-throwback-photos/7590​
https://www.freewalldownload.com/ashley-graham-stock-photos-hd-free-download/​
https://www.biography.com/people/ashley-graham​
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ashley-graham-memoir-molested-at-age-10-survived-domestic-abuse-1000867​