Hayley Hasselhoff on her journey with body acceptance: ‘My body doesn’t define me, I define me’

Hayley Hasselhoff has been a big name in the curve industry since she began modeling at the age of 14 before going on to star in the ABC Family show Huge and break barriers as the first curve model to appear on the cover of a European Playboy magazine. But in conversation with Yahoo Life, the 29-year-old body acceptance advocate talks about how she's finding her purpose in deeper conversations about body image as well as mental health on her podcast Redefine You.

While Hasselhoff says, "my body doesn't define me, I define me," the model and actress acknowledges how her figure had played a role in her upbringing and how she has utilized her experience to pave a successful path for herself.

"I've always been curve — beautifully curve — but, you know, it came with its own set of challenges. I grew up in Los Angeles. The idea of society's standard of beauty was not [curvy] at that time," she explained. "When you're a teenager, you're developing, you don't understand why you don't look like the person next to you. I developed very, very early."

Hasselhoff recalls comparing herself to others around her at a young age and even being teased for wearing a bra before the rest of her peers. Even as she came to understand her relationship with her body and her personal struggles with body dysmorphia, she continued to face unsolicited opinions from people who had a perception of her because of her body.

Video Transcript

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF: I was very blessed to, at a young age, start to take ownership of my body and to say, I am beautiful, even if you say that this isn't the right way of beauty.

KERRY JUSTICH: Today I'm chatting with Hayley Hasselhoff, a curve model and mental health advocate, all about how she's using her platform to discuss body image and acceptance. Hayley, how would you explain your relationship with your body today?

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF: I would really say that my body doesn't define me. I define me. I've always been curved, beautifully curved. But you know, it came with its own set of challenges. I grew up in Los Angeles. The idea of society's standard of beauty was not that at that time. When you're a teenager, you're developing, you don't understand why you don't look like the person next to you.

I developed very, very early. And I remember, they put me in a swim meet with the older girls, and I was wearing a bra, and I got teased about it. Getting the blessing of playing Amber on "Huge" at 17, my character, Amber, she dealt with a lot of body dysmorphia. I've run into fat-phobic doctors.

I've gone into different juice bars and had people have conversations about how my health is determined by what I eat when I'm eating a juice. I have dealt with a lot of the people who still feel like society has the standard of beauty, or that if you're curved, you're not healthy. And now my boobs are my best assets.

KERRY JUSTICH: At 14 years old, you were joining this industry that was labeled as curve modeling or plus size modeling. What did you make of those terms back then?

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF: A lot of people have a lot of resistance towards the word plus size, and curve, and fat. A lot of people will use them in a derogatory way. Start to look at those words the way that you want to perceive them, how they mean to you in a positive light, rather than a negative one. I'm so comfortable with the word plus size, and I'm so comfortable with the word curve. I think it's really, really important.

KERRY JUSTICH: Your experience is unique in just who your parents are. Both of them are known from their roles in "Baywatch," which a lot of people can say contributed to the beauty standard. How did the way that they were perceived by the public impact the way that you viewed your body?

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF: I never, ever looked at it as, oh, look at their bodies or an idea of society's standard of beauty. I've always had love and support from them about my body and celebrating my body. It's hard when you look at your mother or you identify not looking like what you think beauty should look like. It brought up a lot of different conversations. My mom and my dad are just so proud to see how far that I've come and how resilient. I think that I am.

KERRY JUSTICH: One of the things that's so important and integral to your podcast, "Redefine You" is also connecting back to mental health. Why do you think it's so important to dive into the mental health aspect?

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF: When I look back at my childhood, I do think I had a lot of social anxiety and anxiety at times and many of which was triggered because of the conversations around my body image or my self-image. I, as somebody who may seem like I'm very confident and very grounded in my body, it takes time, and it takes work. You are worthy. You are enough. You are beautiful.

I still have to do that work because I'm talking about my body on a consistent basis. If we start to open these conversations up, then it eliminates more people from feeling like they're going to go to a crisis and have nowhere to go. I hope that in the coming years, we still break more barriers. It's about being able to lift people up for living their authentic truth and their beauty and their love for themselves.