Ashley Graham is the queen of body positivity, but really, she’s just being herself and doing her job, she says.
Whether she’s proudly showing off her cellulite or stripping down for a nude (NSFW) photo shoot, she’s been empowering herself and other women for years now. Sometimes, her shoots get controversial, but what successful model hasn’t provoked conversation (and found some haters along the way)?
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But as much as we like to see Graham rock high-fashion, there’s something about the way she struts in a bikini that makes your heart race. Since gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2016 and landing a collaboration with Swimsuits For All, the model’s social media is full of sexy shots in gorgeous beachwear.
Though she’s shared tens (if not hundreds!) of bikini snaps on Instagram, we did some digging to find our absolute favorites. If you’re prepared to see her sauciest photos, keep scrolling! It’s about to get hot.
When she showed off her sexy backside:
When Graham poses for a bikini shot on a trendy vinyl float, of course they’re angel wings. The body-positive model looks insanely gorgeous in this fun photo series on the beach, and she rocks one of her Swimsuits For All suits flawlessly.
For a healthy body, Graham told Good Morning America that she kicks off every day with a glass of hot water with lemon, “because it alkalizes my body and gets things moving.” Next up is her favorite green juice recipe: kale, lemon, ginger, beets, apple, parsley. And to complete the morning, she’ll grab a piece of fruit like an apple or banana as she’s headed out the door.
“I like to eat lightest to heaviest throughout the day,” she told GMA. “Fruit digests faster than anything so I want that in my body first. I try not to eat meat until night.” Check out more about Graham’s unique meal plan here!
When she slayed National Bikini Day:
On July 5, a slew of celebrities and Instagrammers alike posted their best (or funniest ahem, Amy Schumer) two-piece shots to commemorate National Bikini Day. Of the sexy pics we saw, Graham’s takes the cake. Who couldn’t love that infectious smile and playful pose?
Even with a stacked schedule, Graham keeps fitness a priority in her life. “Ashley is a busy woman,” her trainer Dawin Pena told Women’s Health. “But that doesn’t mean she can’t get in a great workout in a short amount of time. Generally we do weights with a high rep count and some calisthenics in between to get her heart rate up.”
You can often find glimpses of her insane gym routines on Instagram, too!
When she cooled off after Coachella:
Coachella’s in the middle of the desert, so it makes sense that Graham would want to cool off from the California heat. But she took it one step further, teasing fans with a slow-mo video of her insane bikini body strutting out of the pool!
The model worked the camera flawlessly as she ran her hands down her body while dripping wet.
When she rocked a ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’ shoot:
Graham was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit‘s cover model in 2016, but her 2017 shoot was just as steaming hot. In this year’s magazine, she didn’t wear much of a ‘swimsuit’ at all, but she made a few fabric strands look oddly erotic. Who else could do that?
When the model earned the SI Swimsuit coveted cover spot, she became the first size 16 model to grace the front of the magazine. While there were some who weren’t ready to see this forward progress, Graham’s work to normalize full-figured women’s place in fashion didn’t stop there.
In 2017, Graham appeared in the sexy special issue again, as did plus-size model Hunter McGrady.
When she blessed us with a full body shot:
In this sweet shot, Graham stepped away from the camera on a gorgeous trip to the beach.
The sexy red suit she’s wearing is the same one she sizzled in for the release of her collaboration with Swimsuits For All, a line that makes swimwear for every body type. This suit looks like it was made just for her, showcasing every perfect curve.
When she stood up for herself in a big way:
Whatever you do, don’t call Ashley Graham ‘brave’ for simply doing her job. The supermodel posted this photo with the controversial caption after the media insisted on calling her “plus size” and “brave” for being a full-figured woman in the industry.
At a press conference for the new season of America’s Next Top Model, she expanded on her (literally) cheeky Instagram post.
“Today they’re calling me brave because I posted a photo of my cellulite,” she said. “The majority of women have cellulite so I’m not going to hide behind Photoshop or retouching—so if the paparazzi gets my cellulite on my big ass, so be it and I’ll post it.”
She also understands that she’s a role model to other curvy women, but she wants her message to transcend those physical attributes. “What they want to talk to me about is cellulite and what they want to talk to me about is back fat,” she said.
When she played a tease perfectly:
Let’s conclude with one of the model’s wildest glimpses on social media! In this nearly NSFW video, Graham flaunts her assets and curves by the pool and added the witty caption “#DoItForTheGraham” to the post.
The model told New York Magazine in her August 2017 cover story that, while she enjoys working to prove that curvy women of all sizes can be beautiful, she’s really out to show the sex appeal women—any woman—carries, without “dowdy clothes, dowdy lingerie.”
In the interview, she says one of the best emails she’s ever received was “a husband who was thanking me because his wife finally felt comfortable enough in lingerie to have sex with the lights on.”
