This Is Us star Chrissy Metz wants to redefine the idea of beauty.
The actress posed as a glamorous pin-up for Harper’s Bazaar and spoke to the magazine about the importance of accepting herself. “When I first heard Harper’s Bazaar wanted me to be sexy,” she recalls, ‘I was like, ‘Who, me?’ I knew y’all were edgy but this is incredible — it’s validation,” she says. “I can get into this now because I finally have the confidence.”
Metz says she was inspired to play Kate, a character who struggles with her weight, on This Is Us so she could spark a dialogue about body positivity and representation. “I’m on this journey to inspire people, and to encourage them,” she says. “If you can’t love who you are now, you can’t get to the place you want to be … It’s a daily lesson for all of us. I’m paving the way for other women and men who know they’re destined for greatness but they don’t believe it yet.”
“There’s more room for all of us now — no matter our sexuality, race, body size, gender or whatever else.”
Read the full profile at Harper’s Bazaar.
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Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com