LatinaLista — When 25-year-old Lizzie Velasquez walks into a room, heads turn. Unfortunately, it’s not for the usual reasons. Velasquez has a rare genetic disorder that prevents her from gaining weight. That would be welcome news to her, or any other woman struggling with weight issues, if the disorder left her slender.
However, it has left Velasquez grotesquely thin — she’s never weighed more than 64 pounds in her life — and the butt of the unkind title “World’s Ugliest Woman.” Yet, Velasquez doesn’t let her looks prevent her from giving hope to others. In fact, she’s turned her misfortunate into a thriving opportunity.
Popular on the motivational speech circuit, this young woman from Austin, Texas routinely encourages many young women, who feel they don’t measure up to today’s definition of beauty, to define their beauty on their own terms.
In her latest effort to get people to look past someone’s exterior, Velasquez asks the audience at a TEDx talk how they define themselves. Her presentation is humorous, sensitive, wise, and above all, inspirational to anyone — regardless of their weight.
