Lizzie Velásquez

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Lizzie Velásquez
Born Elizabeth Ann Velásquez
(1989-03-13) March 13, 1989 (age 35)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Nationality American
Other names Lizzie Velásquez
Alma mater Texas State University
Occupation Motivational speaker First spoke with Barbizon modeling acting agency in 2014
Known for Public speaking, anti-bullying activism, public appearances, and book authorship
Parent(s) Rita Velásquez
Guadalupe Velásquez

Elizabeth Ann "Lizzie" Velásquez (/ˈlɪzi vəˈlæskɛz/; born March 13, 1989) is an American motivational speaker and author. She has a rare congenital disease which, among other symptoms, impedes her from accumulating body fat. This condition resulted in bullying during her childhood and early youth and ultimately inspired her to take up motivational speaking. She has gained many supporters and speaks out against bullying. Lizzie was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome by the Baylor College of Medicine.

Early life and background

The eldest of three children born to Rita and Guadalupe Velásquez,[1] Lizzie was born on March 13, 1989 in Austin, Texas.[2] Born four weeks prematurely, her birth weight was only 1.219 kilograms (2 pounds eleven ounces).[3][4] She studied at Texas State University[3] until late 2012, majoring in communication studies.[5][dead link]

Condition

Velásquez has zero percent body fat and is medically unable to gain weight. [6] She has never weighed more than 29 kg (64 pounds), and is required to eat many small meals and snacks throughout the day. [7] Additionally, she is blind in her right eye, which began to cloud over when she was four years of age,[8] and vision-impaired in her left eye.[9] Velásquez's condition is an undiagnosed and non-terminal genetic disorder[10] which bears similarities to many other conditions, especially progeria. Involved medical researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have expressed the opinion that it may be a form of neonatal progeroid syndrome, which does not affect her healthy bones, organs, and teeth.[11]

Career

Ever since Lizzie was dubbed the "World's Ugliest Woman" in a video posted on YouTube[when?], Lizzie has spoken out against bullying. She has spoken at TED, where she talked about the topic of "How Do YOU Define Yourself"[citation needed] and has garnered 40 million views on her YouTube Channel.[citation needed] Lizzie is known for her optimism. [4][8][12][13][14] For National Bullying Prevention Month in 2015, she hosted a social media challenge for Bystander Revolution's Month of Action.[15]

Her first published work was co-authored (with her mother Rita) and is a self-published autobiography released in 2010 in English and Spanish.[citation needed] It is called Lizzie Beautiful: The Lizzie Velásquez Story and has never-before-seen journal entries Lizzie's mother wrote to Lizzie as a child.

Velásquez wrote two books directed towards teenagers, which share personal stories from her life and offer advice. Be Beautiful, Be You (2012) shares Lizzie's journey 'to discover what truly makes us beautiful, and teaches readers to recognize their unique gifts and blessings'.[12] That book is also available in Spanish as Sé bella, sé tú misma (2013).[13] Choosing Happiness (2014) talks about some of the obstacles Lizzie has faced in her life, and how she's 'learned the importance of choosing to be happy when it's all too easy to give up'.[14] Both books were published by a Redemptorist Catholic publishing house, Liguori Publications.

A documentary film entitled A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, premiered at SXSW on March 14, 2015.[16]

See also

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ ‘Ugliest woman in the world’ teaches about true beauty (September 19, 2012 by Paloma Corredor; published on voxxi.com)
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Woman Can't Gain Weight, Bullied Over Looks ABC News, September 14, 2012
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 'People should stop staring and start learning': World's ‘ugliest woman’ gives courageous interview by Amy Oliver, Daily Mail online, September 13, 2012
  5. ↑ Q & A: Lizzie Velasquez
  6. ↑ Meet woman who can’t gain weight: At 21, she’s 60 pounds Today Health at today.com, July 6, 2010
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lessons from the 'World's Ugliest Woman': 'Stop Staring and Start Learning' by Lylah M. Alphonse of Yahoo! Shine, September 13, 2012
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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