THIS WEEKS FEATURED BEAUTY: BARBIE FERREIRA

"Everyone being called a 'curvy model' or a 'plus-size' model is breaking the boundary"

When she was younger, Barbie Ferreira thought her dream of becoming a model was impossible. No one on TV or in the magazines looked like she did with a curvy frame. But then she landed a gig fronting a new campaign for American Eagle loungewear brand aerie, and now her image inspires girls around the world.

Photos of the 19-year-old Ferreira —which like many “aerie Real” ads, are unretouched—have gone viral, and a video interview about her campaign has racked up more than a million views. That’s likely thanks to Ferreira’s social media audience; She has 68,000 Twitter followers, plus another 250,000 on Instagram.

“As a child I was so deeply insecure,” Ferreira says. “I’d go to classes and auditions and I’d think I’m not going to get this because of my body.” But her world is starting to change. The model talked to TIME about breaking boundaries, ignoring her haters and why she doesn’t mind being called plus-size.