Lizzie Velásquez Biography

Elizabeth Ann "Lizzie" Velásquez is an American motivational speaker, author, anti-bullying activist, and a social media personality. Born with a rare medical condition called Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome which prevents her from gaining fat, Lizzie grew up looking considerably different from the other children. She was bullied a lot due to her appearance, and the fact that she is vision-impaired only added to the challenges she faced. Despite having a difficult childhood and adolescence due to the constant bullying, she emerged to be an emotionally strong woman thanks to the unconditional support of her family. She eventually became a motivational speaker and is an outspoken anti-bullying activist. She gained much prominence following a TEDxAustinWomen Talk titled "How Do YOU Define Yourself" which she gave in 2014. The video of her talk has since earned millions of views. In 2015, she hosted a social media challenge for Bystander Revolution's Month of Action to mark the National Bullying Prevention Month. She is an icon for the anti-bullying movement and her story has been featured on various publications and websites like ‘The View,’ ‘The Today Show,’ ‘Associated Press,’ ‘Huffington Post,’ MSN, AOL, and Yahoo! among others.