The 26 year old, Lizzie Velasquez became a viral sensation almost 10 years ago, when she was dubbed as “The World’s Ugliest Woman” on the Internet.
Velasquez was born with a rare congenital disorder called, Marfan Syndrome, a medical condition that affects her weight. Having zero percent body fat, and is unable to gain weight. It also affects her vision (being blind in one eye and has poor vision in the other) and her immune system but among other things, its most obvious impact is on her body.
Her condition is so rare that only two other people in the world share it.
Her condition has shaped the way she looks and because the condition is so rare, people aren’t used to seeing a person look like Lizzie. When Lizzie was 17, she found a video about herself online, in which she had been named “The Ugliest Woman in the World.” Comments on the video included such horrific statements as “Ewwww,” “She’s a monster,” and “Kill it with fire.”
Despite, all of these cyber and real life bullying, Lizzie Velasquez did the best thing you can do with her Internet nightmare.
She turned all those negative criticisms into a teachable moment. Instead of feeling pity for herself, she built a career as a motivational speaker telling her own story. She has the BRAVEST HEART, ever!
She gave a TED talk 2 years ago in which redefines BEAUTY for herself! The video she made brought people in tears. And now, Lizzie is taking her story to the big screen. Reports say, her documentary “A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez story” just premiered at South by Southwest.
Get your tissues ready and watch the tear-jerking video below:
