Top 151 Quotes & Sayings by Ashley Graham - Page 2

When I'm traveling out of the country, a lot of guys give me a high five, and then they're like, 'I love your work!'

I have been so blessed not only to talk about things that I want to talk about in my industry, but also to have a platform - and people want to hear about it.

I had so many agents tell me that at size 18, I would never work or work again. I heard, 'Go home and lose some weight.'

This is the thing: I know I'm paving the way for the next generation of girls, and they're not going to have to do this. That's what I hope. I'll take the brunt work and just handle it, and then you guys can just sail right on through.

People want to see themselves in the industry that, for so long, has ostracized girls of my size.

What you see is what you get. I don't change who I am from public to private.

The fashion industry might persist to label me as plus-sized, but I like to think of it as my-sized.

A lot of who I am is connected to my size, and I am so happy with who I am.

I started dating at 16.

I want to be a better parent than I had. Even though my mom was absolutely amazing. Her and I are still best friends to this day. I think that the next generation should always be better and better.

When you're given an 'SI' cover, and you take advantage of it, you can conquer the world. Look at Chrissy Teigen. Look at Tyra Banks. Look at Kathy Ireland.

I felt free once I realized I was never going to fit the narrow mold society wanted me to fit in.

My fans are incredible. Don't you dare talk bad about me on my Instagram, because my fans will come out, and they will eat you alive.

Social media has truly helped my career because it has given models a voice. And a voice is something that we want to see a change in the industry.

The beauty of being a curvier girl is that we're all shaped so differently.

'A New Model' is saying that women should be confident in who they are and that they can be their own role models.

I'm a confident woman with thick skin, and as a model in the public eye, I'm conditioned to accept criticism.

When I post a photo from a 'good angle,' I receive criticism for looking smaller and selling out. When I post photos showing my cellulite, stretch marks, and rolls, I'm accused of promoting obesity.

I remember being told by my very first photographer that if I lost weight, and I was a skinny model, it would do wonders for my career. My mum got really defensive - 'I don't think we will be doing that, thank you so much, goodbye.'

People will run up to me with tears in their eyes and say, 'You're Ashley Graham?' and I match their enthusiasm and respond, 'Yes, I am!' and all they say is, 'Thank you so much.'

I really, truly believe beauty is beyond size.

I hit the beauty jackpot, I get it, but that's not enough: you've got to have more to have longevity in this business. It's always been, 'OK, so what can I do now?'

There's something to be said about just being vulnerable. Every woman has gone through something in her life that has been an image issue, or it has been something where somebody told her she's not good enough. And every woman can relate to that.

There are some days I feel fat. I'm not convinced there's going to be a moment where every woman in the world wakes up and feels like a million dollars. So, what I want to do is give women the tools that will help when those moments come up. Sometimes it can be as easy as telling yourself that you are beautiful.

I wasn't put on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' as a plus-size model; I was put on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' as a model, as a rookie, as Ashley Graham.

For 10 years, I'd been told I was always going to be a catalogue girl, never a cover girl. Well, I got with IMG and did five covers in a year, boom, boom, boom.

Back in Nebraska, I was known as the fat model - the girl who was pretty for a big girl. My body, like my confidence, has been picked apart, manipulated, and controlled by others who didn't necessarily understand it.

That's really truly what my message is - finding self love within yourself and not comparing yourself to others - because there's no such thing as perfection, because perfection doesn't exist.

Confidence starts at home, and something my mother never did was look in the mirror and say she was ugly or fat.

I love my hourglass figure.

I was called the girl that was 'pretty for a big girl,' 'the fat model.'

I am just like any other woman, and I think I am the 'fattest woman alive' - but it is really about how you handle your situation.

The sum total of what I learned about African American culture in school was Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Underground Railroad. This was more than my mom knew; she didn't even see a black person in real life until she was 18 years old.

I've lived the torment of the names. I've lived the torment of boyfriends breaking up with me because they were afraid I was going to be too fat later in life.

I just don't live my life in a world where I am not feeling my best, and feeling my best is feeling sexy.

I've always been a girl's girl, and I've always enjoyed my girl friends' relationships, so I want the girls who follow me to feel like we're besties.

I love blocking people. I'm not afraid to block anybody.

As a professional selfie taker, I know my angles. And I know how to look 20 lbs. heavier and 20 lbs. lighter. If Instagram wants to tell me I've lost 60 lbs. in one week, then damn, I look good.

For so long, I have been an outsider because of my size. And I think that fashion has always, in some way, catered to celebrities or to a thinner idealistic model.

I don't like to use the words "real women," honestly. I like to use the word woman. And I say that because there are so many women out there who are naturally thin, or are naturally curvy, and I think when we start putting a label on the type of woman it gets misconstrued and starts to offend people. At the end of the day we just all want to be known as women or models or actresses or whatever.

I am always being asked to gain or lose weight, but I am at a point now where I don't care anymore. I love my body, I love my super-hourglass shape and I love showing it off.

I always say wear what makes you feel most confident, and confidence doesn't always come over night.

The SI Swim cover was life changing, not just for myself but for women everywhere who've been told they can't do something because of their size. Body positivity is no longer a side conversation, it's mainstream.

Embracing uniqueness and showcasing the beauty of our differences is what I am all about so the fact that my words and image can impact positive change is a perk of this job I never expected I would have.

There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.

There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size.

I don't want women to hold themselves back. I think there are too many women who are self-conscious about the way they look - the way they see themselves in the mirror.

I feel like we have to have [plus size models] as soon as possible. We're the norm. We're the majority.

Love yourself. Be proud of who you are.

It doesn't matter if you're a size 2 or 22, you can be healthy as long as you're taking care of your body, working out, and telling yourself 'I love you' instead of taking in the negativity of beauty standards.

I got most of my confidence by having a mother who never said "I don't like this or this." It was just, "You've got to love what you have because it is the only body that has been given." I know that is where a lot of my confidence came from.

I have been so blessed not only to talk about things that I want to talk about in my industry, but also to have a platform - and people want to hear about it. People want the change; people want the difference; people want to know what's going on. People want to see themselves in the industry that for so long has ostracized girls of my size.

We are lucky to live in a world made up of so many different kinds of people and I am confident in the direction we are going.

I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too. There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.

It's really important that we stop body shaming people online and on social media. The rude comments under pictures, comparing women in "who looks better" posts - all that does is force us to judge each other. It only sets us back and women, now more than ever, need to empower each other.

The sense of pride I take away from doing something I know will be inspire women to feel confident about their bodies.

There's no such thing as being perfect, and that doesn't just mean the perfect body. I talk about my body, my relationship with food, men, and sleeping around to find love, my relationship with my family - trials and tribulations. I want people to know they're not alone. And this isn't just about people younger than 30. I have fans who are 30 or 40 telling me, This is exactly what I needed to hear.

As a model, I'm used to having my body scrutinized, and I have a tough skin so I can shake it off. I know I'm the only person that gets to decide how my body should look.

Don't let your image, don't let your size, hold you back. If I had let my hips or my jiggly thighs hold me back or the fact that I've got these big heavy breasts, then I would not be where I am today.

I felt free, once I realized i was never going to fit the narrow mold that society wanted me to fit in.