27 Facts About Tess Holliday

Tess Holliday's mother left her father when Holliday was a young child, and Holliday claims her family moved 40 times before she turned 10.

Tess Holliday was bullied from fifth grade on for her weight and pale skin, having a disabled mother, and because they lived in a trailer behind her grandparents' house.

Tess Holliday left school at the age of 17 and earned her GED.

Tess Holliday has alleged that her father verbally abused her for her size, but that her mother encouraged her to become a model.

At the age of 15, while she was a US size 16 and 5 feet 3 inches tall, Tess Holliday auditioned at a casting call for plus models in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was told she would be lucky to do print advertisements or catalogue work because she was too short and big.

Subsequently, Tess Holliday relocated to Seattle where she stayed for two years and worked as a make-up artist, hair stylist and creative director at fashion shows.

Tess Holliday then moved back to Mississippi and gave birth to her son.

Tess Holliday's move to Los Angeles helped her gain confidence.

Tess Holliday became a professional model in 2011 while working as a receptionist at a Los Angeles dental office.

Tess Holliday responded to 'House of Dreams Model Search' by Torrid and was accepted.

Tess Holliday has been featured on "fatshion" blogs, she models accessories and plus size clothing lines, and was contacted to audition for Vh1's The Big Girls Club.

Tess Holliday has shot a campaign for Benefit Cosmetics, worked with David LaChapelle, featured in Vogue Italia and appeared in Nylon magazine.

In 2014, Tess Holliday quit her day job at the dental office to pursue modelling full time.

Tess Holliday collaborated with the plus size clothing retailer Yours Clothing for the second time when she was officially announced as the face of their high summer campaign.

Since February 2015, Tess Holliday has employed a team of six social media specialists to help manage her message across the world.

Tess Holliday has said that the movement has led to women letting her know that they now feel good about how they look and wear what they like.

Tess Holliday discussed how she does see how the term as negative or derogatory and thought the term is 'very important' for larger women to have their own labels.

In late 2014, Tess Holliday began producing a series of T-shirts with the phrase "Eff Your Beauty Standards", with some of the proceeds being donated to an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence.

Tess Holliday was unable to make the charity donation after paying "thousands and thousands of dollars" out of pocket to a shipping and distribution center to ensure issues with merchandise would be resolved, which "ate up what little [was] left of the profits".

Tess Holliday said, adding that she has given a "substantial contribution" to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

At the age of 20, Tess Holliday gave birth to her son Rylee.

In 2012, Tess Holliday met Australian businessman, photographer and artist Nick Tess Holliday on Tumblr.

In January 2016, it was announced that Tess Holliday was pregnant and expected to give birth in June.

Tess Holliday gave birth to her second son in June 2016.

Tess Holliday was born Ryann Hoven but changed her name to Tess Munster when she started doing alternative modeling and has used the name Tess Typhoon.

In 2021, Tess Holliday claimed that she was in recovery from atypical anorexia.

Tess Holliday is heavily tattooed, including a Miss Piggy tattoo on her right outer forearm, a Mae West tattoo on her right inner forearm, a Marilyn Monroe tattoo on her left bicep, a plus-size mermaid tattoo on her right upper thigh, a Hello Kitty tattoo on her right calf and a Dolly Parton tattoo on her right arm.