Where Are They Now? Ashley Graham

The three-time SI Swimsuit model is also a body positivity activist, mentor, mother and author.

Ashley Graham / James Macari/Sports Illustrated, Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated and Josie Clough/Sports Illustrated

Ashley Graham has been modeling since the age of 12, ever since she was discovered while at a shopping mall in her native Nebraska. Throughout her career, she’s walked fashion week runways and graced the covers of publications like Vogue, Elle, Allure, Maxim, Cosmopolitan and others. 

Graham is known for using her platform to advocate for body confidence and self-love, regardless of one’s height, weight or stature. The body positivity activist and three-time SI Swimsuit model has created an incredible personal brand around confidence. Outside of her career as a model, Graham is a proud mother, entrepreneur and author. Below, we’re taking a look at some of your most pressing questions regarding what Graham is up to these days. 

Ashley Graham and SI Swimsuit

When she landed the cover of the 2016 SI Swimsuit Issue as a rookie, Graham was the first plus-sized model to do so in the brand’s history. That year, she posed for the publication in Turks and Caicos in front of photographer James Macari’s lens. Graham returned to the fold the following two years, traveling to Fiji and Nevis with the brand. 

James Macari/Sports Illustrated

“It’s a huge encouragement to myself knowing that I’ve overcome so many different things and that these women can overcome it as well,” Graham stated of the influence of her cover girl moment with SI Swimsuit. “I think that this is yet another huge stepping stone for women my size to just be accepted as a normal average woman.”

Ashley Graham movies and TV shows

Graham has served as the host of several television programs, including the reality shows American Beauty Star and Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. A frequent presence on the red carpet as a star, she also swapped roles and cohosted the 95th annual Academy Awards pre-show in 2023. She has also emceed backstage at various Miss USA and Miss Universe events over the years. 

Most recently, Graham teamed up with entrepreneur Emma Grede to cohost a Roku reality series, Side Hustlers, in which the two mentor female business owners before ultimately investing in one woman’s enterprise. The show’s second season premiered earlier this month.

Ashley Graham / Jared Siskin/Getty Images

“The whole point of the show is to learn something, something tangible from this, this isn’t just a ‘yes, no, here’s the money, what’s the deal,’ we wanted to see what was under the hood of every single business before we went into it,” Graham explained on TODAY of the Side Hustlers process. “And we wanted our viewers to understand what it really was like to build a business, because there’s not one way to do it. There are so many different ways, so many different opportunities.”

Ashley Graham books

In 2017, Graham published a book titled, A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty and Power Really Look Like. Throughout the collection of essays, Graham covers all things body image, her career in the modeling and fashion industries and more. 

Ashley Graham / Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Earlier this summer, Graham released a children’s book. A Kids Book About Beauty was published by Penguin Random House in June. Targeted to kids ages 5 to 9, the book teaches children how beauty comes from within. 

Ashley Graham husband

Graham and her husband, Justin Ervin, met at church in 2009 and have been together ever since. The two got engaged in June 2010 after about a year of dating, and tied the knot just two months later that August. 

“For me, I love tradition. Our vows were traditional, my dress was a bit traditional, but everything else was really modern,” Graham told Harper’s Bazaar of their nuptials. “[Our wedding] was about celebrating each other. It was a bit traditional. It was a celebration of what the rest of our lives were going to be and celebrating the most important people in our lives.”

Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin / Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Ashley Graham kids

Graham is the proud mother of three boys. She and Ervin welcomed their firstborn, Isaac, in January 2020, and their twin sons, Roman and Malachi, joined the family in January 2022.  

“It was probably harder when they were really little because I was so much more sleep-deprived, but it’s easier now that everybody is sleeping and on a schedule,” Graham told Well+Good last spring of raising twins. “These days, it’s just a constant playdate. I don’t necessarily have to call anyone for my kids to socialize, and that is such a blessing now because they are one another’s entertainment.”

Ashley Graham / Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Ashley Graham Instagram

Graham’s Instagram account is a curated feed of both lifestyle and work content, composed of her immaculate model-off-duty style, sneak peeks at professional gigs and snippets of life with her active family of five. In her bio, Graham summarizes herself as a “model, mogul, mama,” and her platform reflects that.