“Plus Size” Model Lizzie Miller on TODAY Show

By Amanda Pendolino on August 24th, 2009

“Plus Size” model Lizzi Miller made a splash across the Internet last week when a photo of her from the September issue of Glamour magazine surfaced – and she had a bit of tummy hanging out. The pretty blond 20 year-old, who weighs 180 pounds and wears a size 12-14, is being championed as a confident example that average American women can relate to.

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She appeared on this morning’s TODAY show along with Glamour editor-in-chief Cindy Levy to talk to Matt Lauer about the famous photo. “We were doing a story on confidence, so we wanted a picture of a woman who looked confident,” Levy explained. “I loved particularly that she didn’t look like she was sucking her stomach in.” Interestingly, Lizzie had appeared in Glamour back in April, also just in her underwear, but the reactions weren’t as intense because her upright pose made her tummy look a little flatter.

Miller chuckled a bit about the stomach situation, admitting she wasn’t a huge fan of the photo when she first saw it. “I’m just like every other girl who has insecurities too,” she said. “Of course the first think I thought was, ’Okay, not the most flattering picture,’ but I wasn’t airbrushed, and I was bent over, and that was real.” She has come to embrace the image, since it has inspired women around the country. “I just think there needs to be more representation for women who don’t fit into that ‘norm’ of the size 2 that are portrayed in the media,” she said. “This is how I look, and I embrace it.”