Ashley Graham Quotes

I thought it would be really cool to show the world the inner life of someone like me, who doesn't have a huge personality, who deals with some personal demons and is a little bit shy and a little awkward when you first get to know me.

It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free.

I'm much more accepting of myself. A lot of my body issues have naturally settled down.

I really believe that the more distractions and fixes I remove from my life, the better I'll feel about myself. The biggest of those is Depeche Mode. It's the one marriage that survived, but I'm not sure it works - for me, anyway. Jumping on a plane to go somewhere else and be told how wonderful I am doesn't feel good any more.

Growing up, I felt insecure about my build. I didn't feel very feminine. But as time went on, I learned to completely embrace my body.

I used to be smaller than I am now, and it didn't make my life any easier. It's not really about your body. It's about what's going on inside, in your head and your heart.

I feel like there's more to life then worrying about the way that you look.

I had had my own trials and tribulations with body image. I had gone through a lot starting from my teenage years.

A love story is not about those who lost their heart but about those who find that sullen inhabitant who, when it is stumbled upon, means the body can fool no one, can fool nothing—not the wisdom of sleep or the habit of social graces. It is a consuming of oneself and the past.

Every time someone starts talking about weight, it takes away from the fight. No one is born at that weight. We grew into that weight. It is all about the challenge, more so than the weight.

I felt like it was something that didn't represent how I wanted to present myself. Now I'll see kids I come across on Twitter or Comic-Con, and they'll smile and I'll be like, "You have a crooked mouth like I have a crooked mouth!" We just sit there, and I talk about it with them and they feel better about themselves.

I re-invented my image so many times that I'm in denial that I was originally an overweight Korean woman.

Over and over again, I'm trying to express or communicate these big and small struggles to the world, and really to myself.

I remember thinking that I'd never show my arms on TV, but over time you loosen up.

My mother never put an emphasis on looks. She let us grow up on our own time line. She never forced any beauty regimen into my world.

I'd resolved to cut my hair for 'Les Mis' and to do it on-screen to make it feel real. And then the morning came, and I was shaking like a leaf. I almost couldn't do my job. When it was over, I went to the darkest corner of my trailer and I looked in the mirror, and I saw my little brother! But eventually I felt like the coolest girl in the world.

So I - the thought that I would physically be different was - it's not a thrill, I have to tell you. It's kind of - it brings you up short. But I was able to look at it right away.

Writing about feeling disconnected has enabled me to connect, and that has been the most lovely thing of all.

I don't get hung up on weight.

I've been on both sides: the victim and the villain. I was the victimised model, and everything from my weight to my fertility was held up for discussion. And then I was the person that could garner some kind of positive outcome, by taking on the role of vice chairman of the British Fashion Council and becoming an activist of body image.

You won't hear me saying I have no body issues because I wouldn't be human if I didn't.

I've long struggled with my body image and have worked hard to achieve a healthy weight.

I had my shortcomings - crazy hair, braces, bad skin and all that stuff. I went through it all.

I'd got over playing a character. People accepted who I was, and if I was incompetent and useless, they felt quite endeared to me.