Cameron Diaz is the U.G.L.Y. celebrity of 2005. This most prestigious honor was bestowed upon her by the board of Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. NFP, the teen self-esteem building 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Cameron’s article in the April 2005 issue of Vogue magazine cinched the vote. In the article she inspires teens to be happy with who they are instead of worrying about what other people think.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 24, 2006 -- Cameron Diaz is the U.G.L.Y. celebrity of 2005. This most prestigious honor was bestowed upon her by the board of Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. NFP, the teen self-esteem building 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.
Cameron’s article in the April 2005 issue of Vogue magazine cinched the vote. In the article she inspires teens to be happy with who they are instead of worrying about what other people think. She begins the article by saying ... “All my life I’ve wanted to be a fleshy, voluptuous woman -- the kind that burst out of her clothing, displaying her wealth of femininity. But no matter how many times I stared at the Victoria’s Secret catalog wishing I had that little pillow of flesh around my belly button, no matter how many bean burritos with extra cheese I ate ... even as a child I knew it was not my destiny. There was no denying it: I was not just skinny but bony.” Cameron recounts being called names like “Skeletor” and “Bones” when she was in high school.
“The trauma and stress of being called names, of being bullied, is one of the many challenges of adolescence and one Hey U.G.L.Y. strives to help teens better manage,” explained Leni Kass, co-founder of the charity. Research suggests that six out of 10 American teens witness bullying at least once a day and harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school-shooting incidents. “U.G.L.Y. is an acronym meaning Unique Gifted Lovable You, and it exemplifies taking a negative and turning it into a positive, one of the lessons we teach in our acronym contests. Last year we asked teens to come up with positive acronyms for the words, Dork, Stupid and Loser. The entries were inspiring.”
Cameron ends her article by explaining to teens the importance of loving yourself. She writes: “We all come in different shapes and sizes, and the grass is always greener on the other side -- two clichés that, like most clichés, happen to be true. That’s the thing about this conversation; it always ends up in the same place. We are all different, and we all wish we had something other than what we have. What we women need to do, instead of worrying about what we don’t have, is just love what we do have. Get to know your body. Love it, respect it, treat it right. And in return you’ll be happier with you.”
Cameron Diaz was selected from hundreds of celebrities whose self-esteem building statements are displayed on the Celebrity Quotes page of http://www.heyugly.org. “The Celebrity Quotes page is everyone’s favorite,” said Betty Hoeffner, President and co-founder of Hey U.G.L.Y. “Teens report feeling better knowing that celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Vince Vaughn, Halle Berry, Ryan Cabrera and so many more, struggle with some of the same self-esteem issues they do.”
Hey U.G.L.Y.’s goal is to give teens the tools they need to never feel “less than” through their M-POWER self-esteem building curriculum available to middle and high schools across the country.
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