Breanna Stewart Shows Being Different Doesn’t Have to be a Bad Thing

The WNBA star defines beauty as being comfortable in your own skin.

When Breanna Stewart was a teenager, she towered over her peers. Her height was something she admitted to feeling self-conscious about. Ironically, it’s an attribute that has contributed to her success. Stewie (as she is known throughout the WNBA) is a four-time NCAA champion, four-time NCAA tournament most outside player and a two-time WNBA champ.

“I think the moment of my journey where I was more self-conscious was when I was a teenager,” Stewart says. “I’m long. I’m lanky. I was 6’2”, 6’3”, 6’4” going through high school so to be able to find clothes that fit took a little while. It made me not wear long sleeves and only have three-quarter sleeves because that’s as far as the shirts went. You know, that’s when I really started my evolution of being comfortable in my own skin, being confident in my body and realizing that being different doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

“In this world there’s so many things that make us all different. There’s only one of me. I'm one of one and just loving every aspect of that.”

Stewart has looked to make an impact off the court in sharing her story with her fans. Last summer she married former teammate Marta Xargay and the couple’s daughter, Ruby Mae, was born via surrogate last August, less than 48 hours after Stewart won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Says Stewart, “The thought process for us was just the fact that, you know, you want to be as vulnerable as possible with the world and your audience, especially because a lot of people are going through similar situations.”