The story of Lizzie Velásquez – this is her today in 2024

Every person faces their own struggles when it comes to their looks and/or self-esteem.

It might be that you want to lose weight, or maybe you want to fix your teeth? There’s always something that you’d probably like to improve.

Well, every time I feel like I need motivation, I’ll always think about Lizzie Velásquez from Austin, Texas.

Lizzie was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder that prevents her from gaining weight, which in turn affects her appearance.

Being tormented can break any person’s heart and mind, but Lizzie was confident that these people wouldn’t be the ones prevailing. Today, she’s turned her life around and she’s now a global motivational speaker.

Now, I want you, the person reading this, to take a moment to think back on your life at the age of 16. For me, there are plenty of memories from that time – both good and bad – but overall, it was a time when many things were changing. There were more hormones, emotions, and sometimes even mental challenges that you had to fight against.

Hate on the web

All in all, hopefully it was a good time in your life, as it was for me.

Now, pretend that at 16 years of age you were called “The Ugliest Woman/Man in the World”. Not only that, but there’s even a video of you with the text “The Ugliest Woman/Man in the World” attached to it. That video has hundreds of thousands of views, and in the comments, people are saying the worst possible things about you.

How would that make you feel?

For Lizzie Velásquez, this was the tragic reality. She was teased throughout her school years – both in person and on the internet – and it could’ve so easily broken her.

But Lizzie had other plans. She decided to put all these negative vibes together and instead turn them into something positive. That’s why we love her dearly, and want to spread her inspirational story.

I will share this with my friends, and I’d love for you to do the same.

Lizzie Velásquez

Lizzie Velásquez was born March 13, 1989, in Austin, Texas.

At her birth, she weighed only 2 pounds and 11 ounces, and it was clear from the moment she was born that she looked different from the other babies at the hospital.

Being that small, Lizzie didn’t understand that she was different, since she’d always been just Lizzie. However, when she started kindergarden at age five, she realized straight away that something was off.

“To my family, I was just Lizzie. It was a big slap of reality for a 5-year-old. The other kids were scared of me, pointing at me, not wanting to sit with me,” she told Today. “I couldn’t process it. I wasn’t doing anything to them, so why was it happening to me? And I didn’t dare tell anyone.

“Finally, I told my parents and they said, ‘There is nothing wrong with you, you are just smaller than the other kids. You are beautiful and smart and can accomplish anything.’”

Those words from her family still stick with her today, and it really is the truth. No matter how you look, you still have the ability to accomplish anything you want. For Lizzie, though, this would require strong mental toughness to get there. That, and the support from her parents.

Lizzie Velásquez – rare conditions

But we’ll get back to Lizzie and how she managed to come out strong and incredibly inspirational on the other side.

So what was it that made her look the way she does?

Well, Lizzie was born with two rare conditions, marfan syndrome and lipodystrophy. The rare genetic conditions affect her heart, eyes and bones, and prevent her from gaining weight because of a problem with the way fat is distributed in her body. It’s so rare, in fact, that there are only three known cases in the world. Still to this day, it baffles experts.

Not only that, but the condition causes Lizzie to age faster than people without the disorder, and she’s also blind in one eye.

As early as kindergarden, Lizzie recieved comments from other kids. And these remarks continued throughout her childhood, with people labeling her face as “disgusting”.

“At the time, I thought everyone looked like me. I didn’t recognize or tell that they didn’t look like me,” she told the Daily Mail.

When Lizzie started high school, things got better. She realized that she had power over her own life, and her decision was made clear.

Horrible video on YouTube

She was always going to stay positive, be brave, and do all the activities that she wanted to do alongside her friends.

“It was scary, but I knew it would pay off,” Lizzie Velásquez explained. “I was staff writer for the school newspaper and took photos for the yearbook. I tried out for cheerleading. The uniforms were really cute and every time I wore it around the school, I felt like a superhero. I was more myself around my peers, the version of myself around my family.”

Things started to get better, and Lizzie’s confidence was great. Then, one day, her world collapsed.

While doing homework, she was scrolling on her computer and went onto YouTube. Suddenly, she saw a video about herself that would break her heart.

Someone had made a video about Lizzie, dubbing her “the world’s ugliest woman”. Worse, the video had millions of views, and some of the comments were truly terrible.