Ashley Graham was discovered in a mall at the age of 12.
The 35-year-old plus-sized supermodel explained that she spent a lot of her childhood moving around various states but was scouted at her local mall in Nebraska and was promptly signed up to an international agency.
She told Maxim Magazine: “I’m from Lincoln, Nebraska—but technically I’m from Texas-Atlanta-Arkansas-New Hampshire-Nebraska. I moved to Nebraska when I was 12. I left when I was 17 but I still claim it because I love my Nebraska roots. I was actually discovered in a mall in Nebraska when I was 12 years old. Pretty wild.”
Ashely – who has since graced the cover of various top-selling magazines and even has had a Barbie doll made in her likeness – went on to explain that despite her mammoth career so far it is hard for her to pinpoint a particular highlight as she reflected that she is not sure she would have chosen modelling as a career when she was 12 had she not been spotted but remains grateful for the “platform” it has provided her with.
She said: “I have so many amazing moments in my career that it’s hard to really pinpoint them. A lot of them started in the early days, though, because of the impact that they made. My TED Talk; being on the cover of Sports Illustrated; my book, which is called ‘A New Model’; my Barbie which was made in my likeness; definitely the multiple amazing covers I’ve had—the Vogues and the Elles and the Bazaars.
“At 12 years old, do you really know who you want to be? But I would say, I don’t know how else I would be able to have this platform if it weren’t for modeling—so God bless you, modeling.”