'World's ugliest woman' wants to make anti-bullying film
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Velasquez credits her strength to her parents, who have always loved her the same way they love her siblings, Marina and Chris, neither of whom suffers from the syndrome.
"They're the best parents in the entire world," says Velasquez. "From the moment I was born they showered me with love. And they didn't just raise me. They raised my brother and sister in the exact same way. So that love, multiplied times three, is what definitely brought me to where I am today."
Velasquez was born four weeks premature. Doctors used a photo to show her to her mother for the first time. "I started crying inconsolably, but I asked them to bring her to me nevertheless, " says Rita Velasquez. " I wanted to see her, hold her and love her."
Her father says Lizzie realized she was different on her first day of kindergarten, when other kids didn't want to play with her. "We told her about the syndrome and, ever since, (Lizzie) showed great signs of maturity," he says.
"Lizzie has such an inner strength and sense of humor that anyone can relate to her," says Sara Bordo, a first-time director working with Velasquez on the film project." We all have difficulties in life, but nothing compared to what she has been through. Her positive attitude elevates the spirit of any person in the world."
Velasquez says she's not interested in a possible cure for her syndrome.
"No, there is no way, I wouldn't even consider it, "Velasquez says." If you had asked me that question when I was 13, I'd probably have said yes. I'd be all for it, I'd do the trial, whatever. But if you ask me that now, I've learned and I've come such a long way to be able to accept who I am and own who I am that, if I changed anything about me I wouldn't be Lizzie, I wouldn't be true to myself."
