Beauty Evolution: DiDi Richards

New York Liberty guard DiDi Richards is just starting to stretch in the style department. On the heels of her 2022 SI Swimsuit Issue appearance, she recently stunned on the Tribeca Film Festival red carpet and is sporting her own merch. Richards has come a long way in her journey to embrace her body exactly how it is.

“Learning to love my body has definitely been a journey,” she says. “Growing up I was a fricking toothpick. I was like this pole right here, straight up and down long. I looked like a fricking noodle.”

At Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, Texas, boys would pick on her about her height (she’s 6’2”). But when she got to Baylor, Richards says her feelings about her body shifted as she started to wear clothes that showed off more. “Getting to college I learned to love who I was,” she says. “That’s when I started doing stuff like [wearing] crop tops.” Now 23, Richards has seen her body change and is learning to accept it. “Now this phase that I’m in, I’ve gained as people call it grown woman weight,” she adds. “I’m now becoming an adult getting different curves. I’m in this phase where it’s a work in progress.”

Coming full circle, when asked what her favorite part of her body is now, Richards shows she has conquered her past insecurities. “My height. It took me forever to love that,” she admits. “And it was, like I said, a work in progress. I was the tallest girl—not even girl—I was the tallest person in my class.”

Richards has adapted her view and can envision future changes to her body. “My favorite part about being a woman – giving birth,” she says. “I have never given birth… I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be my least favorite thing once I do it. But that’s the reason there are people walking around here. It’s so crazy to me. Like there is a life in your stomach. When I see a pregnant woman, I’m like, ‘You are the epitome of life. Do you love that?’ It’s powerful. Once I choose to give birth, I think that’s gonna be my one thing that nothing can top. I just gave birth to my fricking king or queen here. You can’t tell me nothing.”