Tess Holliday

Tess Holliday is a plus-size model, makeup artist, body positive activist, and blogger based in L.A.

At 17, forced to drop out of school because of severe bullying, Holliday earned her GED, packed her bags, and moved across the country with hopes of making her dreams come true. She started landing jobs as head makeup artist, hair stylist, and creative director for numerous fashion shows in Seattle, WA. In 2010, she decided to move to Los Angeles, and it was that very move that forever changed her life.

Holliday became a professional full time model, was a finalist for Torrid's "House of Dreams Model Search," and the face of a new A&E TV show called "Heavy." She has appeared in a nationwide print ad for "Heavy" that was featured in People Magazine, NY Magazine, and numerous other publications, as well as billboards across the country. She became the first size 22 model to sign with a major agency in 2015 and has been featured in Vogue, Inked Magazine, Inked Girls, Atomic Bombshells, Plus Model Magazine, Skorch Magazine, Cats Meow Magazine, and more.

What Holliday loves most about her career is the ability to inspire and empower women around the world. From transformations with makeup, building confidence through modeling, and advocating body size acceptance, her fans have been the best part of her journey. In 2013, she started her #effyourbeautystandards movement on Instagram, a movement that shows women that they do not have to be a certain size to love their body (big or small) and that their size should not dictate their fashion choices.

In 2019, Holliday came out as pansexual, and in 2021, she revealed that she was in recovery from anorexia.