I'm a model, and I happen to model for curvy things, but at the end of the day, I'm still in front of a camera just like anyone else.
— Barbie Ferreira
At first, I was scared that if I claimed I modeled, people would be like, 'What?'
I've always struggled a ton with my body image, and I wanted to help other people not feel so ashamed about themselves. It's a completely unnecessary part of everyday life.
I love yoga.
I started my modelling career by sending my pictures to American Apparel and eventually meeting my friend Petra Collins, who started shooting me for magazines around New York. I ended up signing a modelling contract with Wilhelmina Models a couple of years later.
Hair-wise, the move for me is to not wash it. I try to only wash it when I have to or for a shoot or something.
People are so influenced by the media that they really believe a 38-24-45 plastic-surgery body is normal, and they can't understand why a body would possibly have cellulite or bumps.
Don't be afraid to show off who you are.
I used to hate my legs, but I learned to embrace them. They may be bigger than the average person's, but they're beautiful. I love them, and I wear short shorts all of the time.
I've just learned how to put things into perspective and how to not be afraid of change while making decisions for myself. Also, asking for what I want and demanding what I need and being more confident in who I am and my ability.
I hate workout classes... Every time I go into one, my anxiety is really high. I leave immediately - like, before the warm up!
When I was younger and really interested in acting, I would look at all the women on TV, and even the ones who were supposed to be 'geeks' or 'less attractive,' they all looked similar because they were extremely attractive and their bodies were all a certain way.
I don't want people to think I think I am the most diverse thing fashion has ever seen or whatever. But there are so many different walks of life that I don't represent, and there is no one person who does.
I just love to disconnect from everything sometimes.
Social media opened up basically every opportunity for me because, traditionally, I wouldn't be thought of as a model.
My favourite movies are 'Jawbreaker' and 'Heathers.'
Less is more. I would notice that when I did my makeup, I was putting on more makeup than they did on me at shoots. A little goes a long way, so I definitely learned how to wear less.
Every day, I feel different. Sometimes I don't put on any makeup, and other times, I put on a ton.
I am unapologetically myself, no matter what anyone's opinion is.
I think representation is the most important thing in the world. People who are young look up to the things that they see in the media. They want to relate and to be able to say, 'Wow, I can be successful.'
I always thought 'plus-size' wasn't a term that was negative - it wasn't something that I felt was something that was making me any different or making me feel like I was lesser than - and I found a community through it.
'Fat' was a terrible, terrible word for me growing up. When I was able to reclaim it and call myself fat and identify with it, that was the best moment ever. That was the moment I really started to feel free.
I have a ton of guy friends who talk to me about their bodies, too. But boys are often left out of the body positivity conversation.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the word 'curvy' or 'plus-size' because there are women who identify as that, and I'm not offended by it whatsoever because I don't feel like being bigger is anything wrong.
I have been on the Internet for a long time and have always gotten hate on the Internet, so there is a thick skin I have developed.
What the body-positive movement wants is to stop categorizing people, and to let people of all body types be able to do anything, whether they're slightly bigger than the average model or a lot bigger.
Not everyone relates to being a blond girl with blue eyes and is proportioned so she could barely walk if she was a real person.
I was on the cover of French 'Grazia,' which was amazing. It was all over Paris!
I have been watching Youtube makeup tutorials since I was born. I did my own prom makeup and used to do peoples' makeup in high school for money.
We need to overcome the stereotype that genders aren't fluid.
I felt the term 'plus size' was inaccurate and kept all these beautiful, stunning women with the widest spectrum of body types I've ever seen - mind you, curvy agencies start at a size 6 and go up to a size 18 - from being seen and resonated with.
I think that people put a lot of worth into looks. Unfortunately, there's a standard that so many people look up to that is unrealistic for everyone's body type.
The way I move, the way I think, the way I handle myself - it might be by accident, but it's who I am, and I've just learned to own that.
I never thrived in high school.
Curvy and plus-size models will just be models once it becomes more normalized and we get more representation and people are used to it and not shocked by it.
As a child, I was so deeply insecure.
