When you think of the weight of a conventional supermodel, it ranges from plus-size to super skinny. But Tess Holliday is hardly conventional. Tipping the scales at more than 300lb (138kg), Holliday weighs as much as a professional American football player. In 2015, she became the heaviest woman to secure a mainstream modeling contract, proving you don’t have to spend daily 2 hours in the gym to gain supermodel status. Want to know some interesting facts about Tess Holliday? We know you do!
1. She Isn’t Exactly Sure How Many Tattoos She Has At This Point
Holliday got her first tattoo at the age of 18. She says the guy who did it had just gotten out of prison, which means it had to have been top quality. Since then, she has gotten so many tattoos that she’s lost count, although she believes it’s around 30. Among the tattoos are a silhouette of a bat, a young Dolly Parton, Miss Piggy, a rose, a girl and scissors, and Hello Kitty.
2. Her Autobiography is Titled The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl: Loving the Skin You’re In
In September 2017, Holliday released a candid autobiography in which she shares details about growing up in an environment in which she was bullied for being overweight. The book has received overwhelming positive reviews from those who purchased it.
3. Her Mother Survived a Murder Attempt When Tess Was 10
Holliday’s mother Beth was shot twice in the head by an ex-boyfriend who left her for dead. Miraculously, although she is partially-paralized she survived. Through lots of physical therapy and effort, she is even able to walk and speak again. But unfortunately she has to deal with constant pain.
4. A Scar On Her Finger Has Disturbing Origins
Tess once revealed that she has a scar on her finger as a result of being bitten by a rat. She didn’t provide any additional details about how this occurred. We might never know the answer. But to be honest, it’s probably for the best.
5. She Met Her Husband Nick on Tumblr
In 2012, Nick Holliday sent Tess a message on Tumblr saying he admired her for the way she promoted body positivity. Of course, he also told her he found her beautiful, which helped seal the deal. Although they got married in 2014, she kept it a secret until she made an announcement three years later in July 2017 that they had tied the knot on her 30th birthday.
6. She Loves Going to Disneyland
Disneyland is Holliday’s all-time favorite place to go. She has said that nobody she has taken there ever has anything less than a great time. What she likes in particular is that there’s nothing “cheesy” about the theme park; the folks at Disney put a lot of thought into every detail. She has also mentioned bumping into Kevin Costner at Disneyland and telling him that he looked like Kevin Costner. He probably gets that all the time given that he looks like and is Kevin Costner.
7. If She Could Live In Any City, She’d Choose London
This being the case, it begs the question: Why not just move to London then? With an annual income of around $1.5 million, she might just have enough money to afford a nice apartment to call home.
8. She Attended High School in a Converted Wal-Mart Building
Back in 2002, a devastating tornado ripped through Holliday’s rural community of Laurel, Mississippi, leveling her high school building. Conveniently, the town had a vacant Wal-Mart building that was able to accommodate 1,400 students both from the high school as well as the middle school, which had also been destroyed. In a crazy, dark twist, Laurel High School’s nickname is the Golden Tornadoes and you can Google it yourself if you think we’re messing with you!
