I had dropped out of school and was a runaway, so I didn't have family to fall back on if I didn't work. I didn't have a lot of other options of making money other than modeling.

I've learned to surround myself with women who lift me up and leave me feeling nurtured rather than drained.

We come in many different shapes and sizes, and we need to support each other and our differences. Our beauty is in our differences.

I was essentially paid to perpetuate the myth that we are all, or should at least try to be, 17 and a size 2 forever.

Anorexia was there for me before I got into modeling, but because of the arena and the demands, the disease really got out of control for me. It's like being an alcoholic and going and being a bartender.

I believe that as women, we must commit ourselves to sustaining the progress made by our foremothers who fought so hard for women's equality and liberation.

My weight fluctuated when I was 30, and I did the unthinkable - I stepped out as a plus-sized model.