Alexa Ray Joel Quotes

My visibility may have gotten Hollywood to redefine what's attractive.

The funny thing is, when I ask people with dark skin if they would change their color, they tell me no, and when I ask women if they would rather be men, they tell me no, and I get the same response when I ask people with unusual anatomies if they would take a magic pill to erase their unusual features.

My first shoot was on a rooftop in swimsuits with two plus-size models who were curvy and voluptuous and beautiful, and they taught me so much about being beautiful in any shape or size.

We need to be more supportive with everything. With body images, especially with women, showing that all sizes are beautiful. And I'm talking about in magazines, advertisement in regard to what's sexy and what's not sexy. We all need to be a little more supportive of each other.

I don't care what color you are, what size you are, where you're from. It is disturbing that there's an idea that only tall, thin, willowy, size 0 women are attractive - even for the tall, thin, willowy, size 0 woman! We all should get to feel like there's something powerful and beautiful about who we are.

One cabbie chastened me by saying that the fashion industry was doing harm to young people, who are trying to live up to an unrealistic ideal. It prompted me to make body image and diversity key issues on 'The Business of Fashion.'

We need to work together to redefine the global image of beauty and continue to push for a more inclusive world.

It has to be something people prioritize - it should be the number-one priority: representing all types of beauty, all types of shapes and sizes.

I am not my skin. I am a model with a skin condition.

My hair was curly, and everyone else's was straight or in micro braids. I didn't have a lot of money, so I shopped at thrift stores. And I'm petite - I never looked shapely. I remember thinking, 'Will I ever have that stereotypical round, full butt that people think most black women have? I had to find another way to feel good about myself.

I'm thin and white and blond, but I'm not an airbrushed, perfect thing. I have stretch marks all over. I have cellulite; I have acne. To me, it feels like you can't really be what you can't see, and so if you don't see those things, then you don't feel like you're valid.

Some people say there's a reason that Victoria's Secret wouldn't put me or any woman who doesn't fit within a certain spectrum on the runway.

There are so many Muslim women that feel like they don't fit society's standard of beauty. I just wanted to tell them it's OK to be different; being different is beautiful, too.

Beauty doesn't have to be confined to one tiny singular tiny frame and I've always really enjoyed standing up for women and representing different shapes within the industry.

Models are supposed to be a muse to you. Why is a muse always the same body type, the same look? It's boring.

I think Charlize Theron is just as good when she is looking really pretty in a movie as when she gains 10 pounds and puts on a nose. I applaud her - good for her that she doesn't care. But she's just as good, whether she's pretty or not.

With 'America's Next Top Model,' I've always cast girls who the industry might call 'plus size' but I like to call 'fiercely real.' That was always important to me.

I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that.

There's no such thing as a standard size movie star, or woman for that matter.

After 'Freaks and Geeks,' I dealt with several producers who wanted to cover up all my beauty marks, every single mole on my body. They tried to cover them on my first two episodes of 'Dawson's Creek,' and it just looked ridiculous, so I had to put my foot down. But it's not something I'm insecure about.

I contend that every woman has the right to feel beautiful, no matter how scrambled her features, or how indifferent her features.

I just want to continue to break barriers and to show the industry and the world that beauty is diverse, and you don't have to be a certain stereotype to be beautiful.

What I think is exciting is that, to a certain extent, there is a revolution happening where black women are owning their own beauty, despite the standard of beauty that in the past has not had space for it.

Just because we're a bit curvier doesn't mean we don't want to look great.

If there was going to be a pioneer of the plus-size girl of my shape on TV, why not me?