Lizzie Velasquez | |
|---|---|
 Velásquez at the 2017 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | Elizabeth Ann Velásquez (1989-03-13)March 13, 1989 (age 36) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Texas State University |
| Occupation | Motivational speaker |
| Known for | Public speaking, anti-bullying activism, public appearances, and book authorship |
| Parent(s) | Rita Borja Velásquez Guadalupe Fonsi Velásquez |
Elizabeth Anne Velásquez (/ˈlɪ.zivə.ˈlæs.kɛz/; born March 13, 1989) is an Americanmotivational speaker, activist, writer, andYouTuber. She was born with an extremelyrare congenital disease,Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome, which, among other symptoms, prevents her from accumulatingbody fat and gaining weight. Her conditions resulted in bullying during her childhood. During her teenage years, she facedcyberbullying, which ultimately inspired her to take up motivational speaking.[1][2]
The eldest of three children born to Rita and Guadalupe Velásquez,[3] Lizzie was born on March 13, 1989, inAustin, Texas.[4] She was born four weeksprematurely and weighed less than 2 pounds 11 ounces (1,219 grams).[5]
Velásquez studied atTexas State University[5] until late 2012, majoring incommunication studies.[6] She is aRoman Catholic and has said of her faith, "It's been my rock through everything, just having the time to be alone and pray and talk to God and know that He's there for me."[7][8][9]
Velásquez's condition is an extremely rare, non-terminal genetic disorder.[10] Her condition bears similarities to many other conditions, especiallyprogeria. Medical researchers at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center previously speculated that it might be a form ofneonatalprogeroid syndrome (NPS) (Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch syndrome), which does not affect Velásquez's bones, organs, or teeth.[11]
Velásquez cannot gain weight, which is a hallmark of her extremely rare disorder.[12] She has never weighed more than 29 kg (64 lbs), and reportedly has almost 0%body fat.[13][14] Moreover, she must eat many small meals and snacks throughout the day, averaging between 5,000 and 8,000 calories daily.[13][14] Additionally, she is blind in her right eye, which began to cloud over when she was four;[15] vision is impaired in her left eye.[16]
Around 2015, it was revealed that Velásquez and another woman, Abby Solomon, with a less severe variant of the condition, havemutations in theFBN1gene, which encodes theproprotein of the novelhormoneasprosin, and that this mutation results in asprosin deficiency and is responsible for their conditions.[17][18] The condition is specifically calledMarfanoid-progeroid-lipodystrophy syndrome, or simply Marfan lipodystrophy syndrome.[19][20]
Ever since she was dubbed the "World's Ugliest Woman" in a video posted on YouTube in 2006, when she was 17, Velásquez has spoken out against bullying. In January 2014, she gave aTEDxAustinWomen Talk titled "How Do YOU Define Yourself",[21] and her YouTube videos have received over 54 million views.[22] She is known for her optimism.[15][23][24][25] For National Bullying Prevention Month in 2015, she hosted a social media challenge forBystander Revolution's Month of Action.[26]
Her first work, co-authored with her mother, Rita, is a self-published autobiography published in 2010 in English and Spanish. It is calledLizzie Beautiful: The Lizzie Velásquez Story, and includes letters Velásquez's mother wrote to her as a child.
Velásquez has also written two books directed at kids, which share personal stories and offer advice.Be Beautiful, Be You (2012) shares her journey "to discover what truly makes us beautiful, and teaches readers to recognize their unique gifts and blessings".[23] The book is also available in Spanish asSé bella, sé tú misma (2013).[24] Another book,Choosing Happiness (2014), talks about some of the obstacles Velásquez has faced and how she "learned the importance of choosing to be happy when it's all too easy to give up".[25] Both books were published by Liguori Publications, aRedemptorist publishing house.
Dare to be Kind, first published in 2017, is about the importance of being kind, gleaned from her firsthand experience being bullied, both personally and online.[27]
A documentary film titledA Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story premiered atSXSW on March 14, 2015.[28] The movie aired onLifetime on October 17, 2016.
Velásquez began starring on her ownFullscreen original series titledUnzipped since April 2017.[29][30]
Raised in the Catholic parish where both her parents work, Velasquez's decision to follow Christ came near the end of high school. She credits her faith with enabling her to endure everything from scorn to physical infirmities. "It's been my rock through everything, just having the time to be alone and pray and talk to God and know that He's there for me," she says.
I was born and raised in the Catholic faith and my parents have always been very involved in church and volunteering. It was always my dad's way of wanting to say to God, 'We will be as close as we can with you, volunteer and do what we can, as long as you help keep Lizzie healthy.' And so we did that our whole lives.
Lizzie Velasquez weighs just four stone and has almost zero per cent body fat but she is not anorexic. [...] Despite consuming between 5,000 and 8,000 calories daily, the communications student, has never tipped over 4st 3lbs.
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