Why Being Named Sports Illustrated Rookie of the Year Is a Big 'Effin Deal: "It's so exciting. I mean, Sports Illustrated twice. It's like, 'Holy cow!' It doesn’t matter if you're in an ad or in the editorial, being in Sports Illustrated period is a career changer for any model. We've seen it with the models throughout the decades. I think now what's happening is that we're in the curvy girl era, and you're going to see bodies like ours because this is the norm."
How She Gained Her Confidence: "Affirmations are huge. But also, I think something I would've told myself when I was younger is 'Stop taking it so seriously.' Your thighs touching is not going to kill you. You are still going to become a CEO of a company, honey. High school is not the end-all, be-all. That is just a small portion of your life."
How Her Crazy First Job Turned Into a Successful Career: I was 12 years old, maybe 13, and [I modeled] a see-through bra, and my mom came with me, and we were like, 'Thank you God for this job! If this is the only job I ever get, thank you!' My mom had to sign a waiver that they could airbrush my nipples out. Next thing you know, I get signed with an agency, and I modeled back and forth throughout high school. I moved here when I was 17, and boom. My mom and dad said, 'If you don't make it there, you gotta come back and go to college.' And honestly, I was such a terrible student that I was going to do whatever it took to not have to go back to Nebraska. So I just made it. I just worked hard."
The One Job Opportunity She'd Turn Down Now: "I don’t show nipple and 'bush' anymore . . . I just don't."
How She Broke Boundaries in Fashion: "I think that if you make up your own rules then you become the rebel and the disruptor. That's when your voice is heard, and that's when you can make an impact. That's when you really start to find out who you are in your career as well."
