Lizzie Velasquez

Lizzie Velasquez (born ) is a motivational speaker, anti-bullying activist, and author. She experienced bullying as a result of her unusual appearance, caused by a rare syndrome.
==Personal life==
Lizzie was born on March 13, 1989, weighing 2 pounds 10 ounces. Her parents were told she would never speak or walk, although the normal medical tests given to babies returned no abnormal results. Her parents bought doll clothes, as even the smallest baby clothes were too big for her. She is blind in her right eye, and has impaired vision in her left. She has two younger siblings. Lizzie was a cheerleader in high school. Lizzie is 5’ 2” tall. She was raised in the Catholic faith. Lizzie is Mexican-American.
===Condition===
Lizzie has , a genetic condition which means she is unable to gain weight. As of August 2016, fewer than ten people are known to have the condition. Her syndrome was diagnosed when she was twenty-five, while filming a documentary about her life. Her extended family did not learn of the diagnosis until they saw the documentary.
In July 2018, Lizzie was featured in a Special Books by Special Kids video.
==Activism==
In December 2016, Lizzie appeared in a viral meme, shared by a number of Facebook pages, which mocked her appearance. She responded by reposting one of the memes to her Instagram. Some of the accounts were closed by Facebook.
In 2016, Lizzie won the Latinovator award, which recognises inspiring Latino people.
In October 2019, Fox news anchor Jason Martinez caused controversy after sending Lizzie a hurtful message on Instagram. He apologized, and described the message as “a mistake.”
In August 2020, Lizzie condemned the TikTok “New Teacher Challenge,” where parents filmed their children’s reactions to adults with facial abnormalities, including Lizzie. To counteract the challenge, Lizzie shared a TikTok video of a mother showing her son a picture of "her friend Lizzie," and asking what he thought of her. The boy said Lizzie looked “really nice.”
===Speaking===
At the age of seventeen, Lizzie accidentally found a viral eight-second YouTube video titled The Ugliest Woman in the World, which featured herself, and had many hateful comments. In 2015, she described seeing the video as “one of the biggest blessings in disguises [she had] ever had in [her] life.” About a year later, her vice principal suggested she give a speech. This inspired her to become a motivational speaker. In 2013, she graduated from with a degree in communications.
In January 2014, Lizzie gave a TED Talk titled “How do you define yourself?”, which has over 12.4 million views as of 2022. In the talk, she describes how, when she started kindergarten, she did not realise that she looked different from other children. This hugely expanded her platform.
==Documentary==
A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story was produced by Sara Hirsh Bordo, the producer of the TEDWomen event, and funded via Kickstarter. It broke a record for the largest documentary raised in thirty days on the platform. The tagline is: “Bullying stories are famous for having victims, not heroes.” It had its world premiere in Lizzie’s hometown at on March 14, 2015 and was released in theatres on September 25, 2015. As well as covering Lizzie’s life, it addresses the issue of bullying, and Lizzie’s fight to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act.
===Awards===
*Audience Award Winner – Documentary Feature Spotlight: South By Southwest Film Festival
*Audience Award: Illuminate Film Festival
*Audience Award – Documentary: 
*Spirit Award: 
*Best Feature Film: Justice Film Festival
==Television appearances==
In 2012, Taboo, a documentary about Lizzie, was produced by National Geographic.
In November 2013, Lizzie was featured on an episode of Body Bizarre, a show.
In early 2017, Unzipped with Lizzie Velasquez, a show where Lizzie spoke to people with body image issues, was aired by .
==Books==
===Lizzie Beautiful: The Lizzie Velasquez Story===
Lizzie Beautiful is Lizzie’s autobiography. It is published in English and Spanish.
===Be Beautiful, Be You===
Be Beautiful, Be You is an advice book, and was released in late 2012.
===Choosing Happiness===
Choosing Happiness was published on August 1, 2014.
===Dare To Be Kind===
Dare To Be Kind: How Extraordinary Compassion Can Transform Our World was released on June 6, 2017.
==Subscriber milestones==
*50,000 subscribers: January 9, 2014
*100,000 subscribers: February 5, 2014
*150,000 subscribers: July 15, 2014
*500,000 subscribers: December 19, 2015
*800,000 subscribers: February 3, 2018
==References==
Category:Vlogging YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2008