Size 16 model Ashley Graham is shaking up the fashion industry: Wants women to love their curves and cellulite & be healthy at any size..

She made history after becoming the first plus-size model to feature in the esteemed pages of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and now Ashley Graham is on a mission to combat the self-loathing women feel about their bodies. 

The body diversity activist, from Lincoln, Nebraska, has revealed her top confidence boosting tips in a film for Elle UK and has been interviewed for their 'The Body Issue'. 

At just 28 years old, the curvaceous supermodel is helping shaking up the fashion industry and the world's ideas of beauty.

The non-sample size stunner told the glossy publication how important it is for women to 'be your own individual' and to have role models for the right reasons. 

'I really believe that women need to start looking up to other women, not for their exterior but for their interior and what they're doing in the world. Be you, be your own individual.'

With over 33,000 Twitter followers, 330,000 Instagram fans and 70,000 likes on Facebook, the brunette beauty is making sure her positive message is being heard far and wide. 

She recently received a standing ovation when she delivered an empowering TED talk titled 'Plus Size? More Like My Size' in Spain, discussing how learning to love and accept herself has helped her lead a happier life.

She also waded into weight loss supplement Protein World's controversial, 'Are you beach body ready?' campaign with her own provocative image.  

The American posted a copycat ad on Instagram asking her followers: 'Are you ready for this beach body?'

Ashley's post, which includes the hashtag #curvesinbikinis, featured a shot from her Swimsuits For All campaign that ran in this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

She told Elle UK: 'It is so important to be healthy and I truly believe you can be healthy at any size. 

'You can be a size 2, 12 or 22, it doesn't matter as long as you get off the couch and you take care of your body.

'Your body is going to thank you at the end of the day.'

Along the way, Ashley, who has modelled for British clothing brand Evans and featured in Love magazine and Teen Vogue, has come under fire for glamourising obesity.

She hit back by telling Elle UK that 'being beautiful isn't just about the exterior'.

The voluptuous poser said it is 'in the soul and on the interior' so when women start loving themselves on the inside, 'the outside becomes so much more easy'. 

Ashley travels around America meeting young women in schools to champion the importance of a positive body image.  

She believes feeling 'sexy is a state of mind' and said she feels most flirtatious when wearing 'a little crop top' and working her 38D cleavage.

Her fearless attitude has lead her becoming a figurehead for strong, bold women.

She said the question she gets asked the most is 'how do you teach confidence?'

She told Elle UK: 'I never truly know how to answer that question except from by showing I'm not afraid of my curves and my cellulite. You're only able to attain that when it comes from you.'

As part of her mission Ashley is encouraging women to empower others saying they need to 'create a safe space for the women around them to help them embrace their bodies and not be afraid of what they have'.