Quotes from Denise Bidot

When I started, fashion for curvy women was very ugly.

Women want to see more women that look like themselves - they don't want to see something completely unattainable.

Love is unconditional. Also, love for me is different because I find that - I'm a mom and so for me love for my daughter is gonna always be number one.

I stand firmly to the fact that you shouldn't have to change who you are to fit into any beauty standards or to be recognized in your job or to move forward in life. You should just be yourself.

For acting, classes are a necessity, but for modeling it's really just knowing who you are and knowing how to sell yourself.

It's so amazing to be able to speak to women across the world and be an example to the next generation.

My mom struggled with her weight so much growing up. I watched her go from a size 2 to a size 22. I just kept seeing her try all these unhealthy ways to lose weight and struggle to be something she wasn't meant to be. I knew early on that I wasn't willing to compromise that way.

What has helped me the most to navigate the business side of the modeling world was having open conversations with colleagues. When I first started out, I asked other models about compensation and started learning more about the business and uncovering the truth. Having these open dialogues helped me understand more about the business side.

You can be curvy and still be absolutely flawless.

Nothing like stopping at Balthazar in between NYFW madness. Their shrimp cocktail is delicious and healthy.

It is about time we reprogram the way women think, and I think it is important to push that toward women who need to understand that beauty is not one-sided.

There's no way in the world I would have thought about opening New York Fashion Week or walking in London.

I'm proud of my stretch marks. For so long in my life, I thought those were things I needed to hide or things that made me imperfect, and I came to realize that those are the qualities that made me unique.

I love everything about my body. Every bit of it... the cellulite, the stretch marks, everything that I thought at one point was an imperfection, I now realize is everything that makes me unique.

My daughter is going to get to grow up in a world where she never sees herself being an outcast or feeling like she doesn't fit in.

I always laugh about it because when I come in with hair extensions or lashes or all this makeup, she's like, 'Take it off, mommy, you're beautiful just the way you are.' It's amazing to think that a 6-year-old can have what so many women of my generation are struggling to figure out.

I've always been a real stubborn Latina. I'm a Gemini.

Beauty is not a size. You can be a size 2 and be curvy or you can be a size 24 and be curvy Curvy is being a woman.

I think if they did go ahead and include a plus-sized angel, I think it would be such a huge statement from Victoria's Secret especially cause for so long, as a curvy woman, I haven't been able to shop there, able to fit in a lot of their stuff.

Of course I would be honored to be the first plus-size Victoria's Secret model.

It's all about the confidence.

Very early on I knew I wanted to be in entertainment.

A lot of girls get caught up looking at what other people are doing. You've just got to stay in your lane. You've just got to go forward and know that whatever is meant for you is going to come your way.

I do know that when I started, there weren't very many Latina plus-size models. For a long time, with my look and my body type, I felt like there wasn't a place for me.