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Supermodel Ashley Graham has been working in the fashion industry for well over 20 years. However, because the industry is only just now recognizing curvy women, Graham is just getting the recognition that she deserves.

The 32-year-old was discovered by a talent scout when she was shopping at a mall in Nebraska when she was just 12-years old. By 2001, she was signed to a major talent agency where she modeled for Hanes, Liz Claiborne, and Bloomingdale’s among others. However, in 2016, she got her major breakthrough.

That year she became the first curve model to cover the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. From there, her fame exploded. She wrote a best-selling book, snagged covers on Vogue and Glamour, and launched her podcast, Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham. Fans love the new mom for how relatable and transparent she is, even when it gets a tad embarrassing.

Ashley Graham is a body activist

Graham has been labeled a “plus-size” model, but she hates the term. “Why do we want to be put in a different category than all the other types of models? No one says ‘skinny model’, so am I wrong for not wanting a label? I don’t think so,” Graham said in a 2016 interview with Shape Magazine.

Now that she is one of the most recognizable models on the planet, she finally feels like she can speak out.  “It was always about what others thought about my body until I gained a voice,” she explained. “Now I get to tell people what I think of my body.”

For Graham, it’s been about being healthy no matter what size she is. “I believe you can be healthy at any size as long as you’re getting off the couch and moving your body,” she told Health. “I have been a size 10 and I have been a size 18. Regardless of the size, I’ve always been active because I know it’s the healthier version for me.”

Ashley Graham believes in transparency

From her workouts to her thoughts being on in an interracial marriage to her changing body in pregnancy, Graham is all about transparency. “The more you’re vulnerable with the people you’re sharing with, the easier it is to be who you are. That’s why I always tell women, just be who you are. Don’t retouch your photos,” she told Today.

For Graham, transparency also means holding yourself accountable. “I had to come up with mantras and affirmations,” she revealed. “I had to repeat it to myself every single day in order to really embody that woman, and it took years,” she said.

Ashley Graham broke her front tooth while eating an oatmeal cookie

Though Graham is serious about women loving themselves exactly as they are, she also has a humorous side. The new mom was recently visiting her mom, Linda Graham, in her hometown of Nebraska.

At home, the supermodel was indulging in some of her mom’s infamous oatmeal cookies. She didn’t realize her mom was thawing the cookies she’d kept frozen and when she bit into one she broke her front tooth. “Shout out to Linda Graham for making the best oatmeal cookies in the world and putting them in the freezer,” she said before pausing for a beat. “…and having her daughter break her tooth on them,” she added. 

We love that despite an impending trip to the dentist the model has a hilarious sense of humor.

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