Health

This Sports Illustrated Model Just Made History

February 9th 2016

It's a "dream come true" for plus-size model and body activist Ashley Graham. The supermodel was officially named a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and will appear in next week's 2016 swimsuit issue.

Although she isn't the first plus-size model to receive a coveted spot in the magazine, Graham will be the first size 14 model featured as one of the magazine's potential "Rookie of the Year" models, BuzzFeed reports. Graham confirmed the news Tuesday through an Instagram post by sharing a picture from her shoot.

"It's official - I'm a @si_swimsuit model!! This is a dream come true. Thank you to everyone who stood up for curves- our voices were heard and together we can help me win Rookie of the Year. Stay tuned for voting instructions #beautybeyondsize #siswim."

However, this isn't Graham's first time gracing the pages of the highly anticipated magazine. Last year, the model made national headlines when she posed for a sexy Swimsuits For All campaign that was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Graham has long been an advocate for body acceptance and regularly speaks about the importance of embracing a woman's natural curves.


The plus-size model will be following in the footsteps of Robyn Lawley. Lawley posed for the the 2015 edition of the magazine as a size 12.


Although plus-size modeling starts at size 8 in the modeling world, most women who are plus-size models are closer to a size 14, BuzzFeed reports. In addition, the average size of the American woman is a size 14.

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