They Called Her the ‘World’s Ugliest Woman.’ It Only Made Her Stronger

Michael Buckner—Getty Images for SXSW
Lizzie Velasquez arrives at the premiere
of "A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez
Story" at Paramount Theatre on March
14, 2015 in Austin.

The experience inspired Lizzie Velasquez
to appear in a new documentary
Lizzie Velasquez will never forget the
day she came upon a YouTube video
with 4 million views and thousands of
mean comments naming her the
"World's Ugliest Woman." She was
only 17 years old.
"When I saw it my whole world just
felt like it crashed at that moment,"
Velasquez, 26, tells PEOPLE of the
experience that inspired her new
documentary A Brave Heart, which
premiered on Saturday at SXSW in
Austin, Texas. "I thought, how in the
world can I ever pick myself up from
this?"
But Velasquez – who weighs just 63
lbs. due to a rare syndrome that
doesn't allow her to gain weight – did
just that by becoming an anti-bullying
activist and motivational speaker.
"If I ever see that person [who made
the video] I would jump on them and
give them the biggest hug in the world
and tell them, 'Thank you for bringing
the best thing that has ever happened
to me in my life,' " she says. "That
video changed everything and it has
given me the platform that I have now
to be the voice for anyone who's ever
been bullied – and not just myself."
After giving a TEDx talk that went
viral, Velasquez was approached by
the group Women Rising and director
Sara Bordo, who asked if she could
document Velasquez's daily existence
and efforts to lobby for the country's
first federal anti-bullying bill. She
also gained the attention of YouTube
star iJustine who is an executive
producer on the film.
"I've met so many people who have
come up to tell me their personal
stories, and a lot of them express the
same feelings that I have, especially
reading things online," says Austin-
based Velasquez. "Hearing those
stories really validates what we're
doing."
Though her goal is for people to know
that "for you to be able to do
anything, you have to learn to love
yourself first," her life is not without
struggles.
"I experienced bullying as early as the
first day of kindergarten and there
were times where I wish could escape
out of my body," says Velasquez, who
is also blind in one eye.
"But I have the most incredible
support system in the world," she
says. "They let me have those times
when I just want to cry. But I give
myself a deadline and say, today's my
sad day but tomorrow when the sun
comes up it's done."

Watch the video below of the show

This article originally appeared on
People.com