--- title: Ashley Graham Discusses Her Modeling Career description: Ashley Graham is confident about her body now, but she initially thought her weight would hold her back from making it as a model. canonical: https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-21T13:37:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:39.281Z og:title: Why Ashley Graham Never Thought She'd Make It As a Model og:description: 'I would call myself fat and ugly and disgusting' og:url: https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22f8edce1261c5ec/6988aafa97cdff2cae6ae439/ashley-graham-body-positivity1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2237 og:image:height: 1258 og:image:alt: Ashley Graham Hosts Addition Elle Lingerie Presentation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Ashley Graham Never Thought She'd Make It As a Model twitter:description: 'I would call myself fat and ugly and disgusting' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22f8edce1261c5ec/6988aafa97cdff2cae6ae439/ashley-graham-body-positivity1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Ashley Graham Never Thought She'd Make It As a Model > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=3c199d22-8616-4cd6-8cac-780bd719c390&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Kaitlyn Frey / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Kaitlyn Frey / People Contributor Oct 21, 2016 1:37 PM UTC  Ashley Graham presents Ashley Graham Lingerie for Addition Elle at Nordstrom Oakbrook Center on September 17, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Ashley Graham presents Ashley Graham Lingerie for Addition Elle at Nordstrom Oakbrook Center on September 17, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Gabriel Grams—Getty Images by [Kaitlyn Frey / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Kaitlyn Frey / People Contributor Oct 21, 2016 1:37 PM UTC [Ashley Graham](http://people.com/style/a-life-changing-tip-from-model-ashley-graham-fake-it-til-you-make-it-she-does/)‘s had an unstoppable year: she covered the _Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue_, launched her lingerie line at [Nordstrom](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=463275.1&type=10&tmpid=8158&RD%5FPARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fshop.nordstrom.com%252Fc%252Fwomens-clothing%252Faddition-elle-love-and-legend%257E13594&u1=POashleygrahamsupermodelL1KFOCT), starred in a [body positive Lane Bryant ad](http://people.com/bodies/lane-bryant-ad-starring-a-nude-ashley-graham-rejected-by-tv-networks/) and now [fronts Dressbarn’s new size-inclusive “More Than a Name” campaign](http://people.com/style/ashley-graham-veronica-webb-dressbarn-fall-campaign/). But the 27-year-old star didn’t always think she would make it as a supermodel. “I \[used to\] be told, ‘You’re not a cover model,’” Graham said. “I thought to myself, ‘I’ll just do catalog.’ And because I held onto that for so long I just stopped living that dream.” She added: “Words were breaking me for a long time. I would call myself fat and ugly and disgusting. The moment that I realized, that’s not the kind of life that I want, my life changed. My career took off.” Without any doubt, the model exudes confidence and positivity, which she is hoping to pass on to other women with Dressbarn’s new campaign and her clothing line with the brand (that includes sizes 4 to 22!), [Beyond by Ashley Graham](http://www.gopjn.com/t/8-8827-131940-56159?sid=POashleygrahamsupermodelL1KFOCTurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dressbarn.com%2Fdresses%2FN-12tgm5eZws8296). Last night, the star stepped out in her own Beyond by Ashley Graham fall design to celebrate Dressbarn’s campaign in New York City. “I’m so honored. This campaign is opening up that door and letting women know that they are more than a label,” she told PeopleStyle at the event. “\[They are\] more than a stereotype. You can be whoever you want to be.” Graham said she designed the dresses in her line with every type of woman in mind. “Any body type, any aesthetic of woman can wear my dresses,” she told us. “My mom was begging for every single piece of the collection. She’s a 51-year-old woman and housewife and she still is like, ‘I want everything!’” Check out some of our favorite pieces from the collection below. _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/style/ashley-graham-on-her-supermodel-journey/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/"},"headline":"Why Ashley Graham Never Thought She'd Make It As a Model","datePublished":"2016-10-21T13:37:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:39.281Z","description":"'I would call myself fat and ugly and disgusting'","url":"https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22f8edce1261c5ec/6988aafa97cdff2cae6ae439/ashley-graham-body-positivity1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kaitlyn Frey / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22f8edce1261c5ec/6988aafa97cdff2cae6ae439/ashley-graham-body-positivity1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ashley Graham Hosts Addition Elle Lingerie Presentation","caption":"Ashley Graham Hosts Addition Elle Lingerie Presentation","creditText":"Gabriel Grams—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4539769/ashley-graham-body-confidence/","name":"Why Ashley Graham Never Thought She'd Make It As a Model"}}]}] ```