LOS ANGELES 鈥� Chrissy Teigen will grace the front of People magazine鈥檚 鈥淭he Beautiful Issue鈥� in a cover story that delves into her evolved definition of beauty, facing racism growing up and her heartbreaking miscarriage last year.
The magazine revealed the cover Wednesday of the annual issue, which hits newsstands Friday.
On this year鈥檚 cover, Teigen appears smiling along with her children Luna, 4, and Miles, 2, with the quote 鈥淚鈥檝e learned how strong I am.鈥� The 35-year-old model and cookbook author is married to R&B crooner John Legend, who was named Sexiest Man Alive by the magazine in 2019.
Teigen, who is of Thai-Norwegian descent, said she wants to follow her Thai tradition in remembering her son, Jack, who died at 20 weeks of her pregnancy. She was hospitalized with excessive bleeding before the miscarriage. She said it鈥檚 important for Luna and Milles to stayed connected with their late brother and always 鈥渆mbrace the ones that we鈥檝e lost鈥� based on her tradition.
鈥淲e have this new home that we鈥檙e building, and this tree being planted inside,鈥� she told the magazine. 鈥淭he whole reason why I wanted it was so Jack鈥檚 ashes could be in that soil, and he could be with us all the time and grow through the beautiful leaves.鈥�
Over the years, Teigen said her definition of beauty has evolved after giving birth to her children. She has taken a proud stance of embracing her healed scars as a mother.
鈥淏eauty is being able to see how powerful your body is,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really nice to be able to come to an age where I can appreciate every little scar and see my body as something that鈥檚 done incredible, miraculous things. The difference is these two beautiful, wonderful babies, and these scars are the things I鈥檝e been through and the journeys I鈥檝e healed from.鈥�
Motherhood has also changed Teigen鈥檚 views on her wellness. She used to enforce a strict eating regimen during her modeling days, dealing with the ups and downs of the diet culture.
But now, Teigen is focused on what makes her feel good and does her best to 鈥渋ndulge in it.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e spent way too many years counting calories and scheduling way too many workouts and trying to figure out what 鈥榳ellness鈥� meant to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow I know that it鈥檚 on the ground playing with my kids or going to an aquarium or a park.鈥�
Teigen touched on enduring racism while growing up. She often had friends 鈥� Black or white 鈥� who protected her after racist comments. She said some of her friends got suspended from school for defending her.
As Teigen grew older, she saw more racism occur during her modeling career.
鈥淚 experienced more everyday casual racism once I entered the modeling world,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen they needed someone racially ambiguous 鈥� that鈥檚 what they called it 鈥� that was always going to be me.鈥�
People's announcement comes a week after Teigen quit Twitter, citing it as a negative influence on her life. She wrote in a final series of posts that criticism she'd endured on the site had left her 鈥渄eeply bruised.鈥�
Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press
