The modeling world, in recent years, has seen an increase in their “plus-size” department as a lot of thicker women continue to gain confidence with their body type. Ashley Alexiss belongs to that lot. The American model isn’t afraid of flaunting her thick body for the cameras and has been able to gain a lot of traction doing so. On her gram where she constantly shows off her curves, she boasts over 1.6 million followers and has been featured in top magazines like Elle, Playboy, and Maxim.
The term “plus-size” has in recent years become somewhat controversial. We’ve seen the likes of Australian model Stefania Ferrario campaign against its use in the modeling world, stating that it is a form of body-shaming; however, the likes of Ashley Alexiss seem to be less fazed as she has the term boldly written on her social media bio. We take a look at the career of the boldly plus-sized woman alongside some facts that could interest you to know.
Ashley Alexiss – Biography
Like most of the world’s leading glamour models, Ashley Alexiss always loved modeling; however, a thick body and being vertically challenged were some of the hurdles she had to overcome in order to get her dreams fulfilled. Raised by a single mother named Velvet Smith in Los Angeles, Ashley was originally born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on the 25th of November 1990.
At her high school, Alexiss was a victim of bullying, however, she found the strength to ward off her bullies by actively engaging in extracurricular activities as well as registering for a couple of after-school programs. After getting a confidence boost, Ashley Alexiss got over her self-pity and decided to start modeling despite being told she wasn’t good enough. She began by participating in school beauty pageants.
A beauty with brains, Ashley Alexiss didn’t let her modeling aspirations deter her from her education as she proceeded straight to college after high school. She attended Kaplan University from where she graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Two years later, in March 2016, Alexiss earned her master’ degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing.
While pursuing her academics, Ashley Alexiss continued to work on her modeling career. While studying for her first degree, she got a photographer and began putting her portfolio in place and it wasn’t long before her big break came – she’d won a Playboy modeling contest with 2.2 million votes, an achievement she was able to pull thanks to the marketing skills she’d learned from school.
After her big break, Alexiss began landing more gigs and soon created her own self-titled lingerie line called Shop Alexiss. The line includes sizes for women of all sizes in respect to her mantra that “beauty is not a size.”
The 5 feet 4 inches glamour model has been able to successfully utilize the power of social media to her favor. She is the brand ambassador for Fashion Nova Curve, a global plus-sized fashion brand that sells and ships products online. In a bid to expand her brand, in 2018, Ashley Alexiss began traveling the world in order to learn about new cultures.
Facts About the Plus-Size Model
1. Ashley Alexiss is a married woman
Ashley is married to her longtime boyfriend Travis Yohe. As she revealed via Instagram, on one of their anniversaries, the couple met in 2011 while they both went on a parasailing trip with Fury Key West. They began dating and on the 14th of December 2016, Yohe popped the question with a Pink diamond ring which he designed with a jewelry maker – Brent Miller. The couple got married in September 2018 in a luxury wedding attended by close family and friends and their dog, Todd, who Alexiss adopted in March 2013.
2. She creates Awareness for breast cancer via her Cleavage for the CURE campaign.
Inspired by her grandmother who lost her bout to cancer, Ashley Alexiss created the Cleavage for the CURE campaign in order to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to help with their research for a breast cancer cure.
3. Ashley Alexiss has gone under the knife a couple of times.
Alexiss has gone under the knife at least twice to modify her breasts. The first time was when she was 21 years old when her doctor mistakenly gave her a size bigger than what she requested, leading to complications that led her to undergo a reduction from a 36G to a 36DD size. She had undergone the reduction in order to fit into her wedding dress.
4. Reality TV appearance
Alongside her mother Velvet, Ashely Alexiss appears as one of the mother-daughter pairs in the reality TV show, Fix My Mom. The show showcases how mothers and daughters attempt to amend the bond between them before it breaks beyond repair.
