The woman, who committed suicide after being bullied for being born with a rare condition that prevented her from moving her mouth and eyes, is now signed to a major modeling agency.
Tayla Clement, 24-year-old from New Zealand, was born with Moebius syndrome, a condition that causes facial paralysis due to underdevelopment of certain nerves.
He cannot lift the corners of his mouth, move his eyes from side to side, raise his eyebrows, or move his upper lip while smiling.
Tayla was bullied at school for failing to show her facial expressions, and her torture became physical at age 11 after eight hours of surgery to ignite a new neural connection on her face.
After surviving six suicide attempts, Tayla is now embracing her beauty with an Instagram account with close to 24,000 followers and a contract with international modeling agency Zebedee.
Tayla Clement (pictured), 24, who lives in New Zealand, has signed a modeling contract with international agency Zebedee.
Tayla was born with Moebius syndrome, a rare condition that causes facial paralysis due to underdevelopment of certain nerves.
Tayla told 7Vita that she wanted to set an example for her youth and show that being unique doesn’t make you worthless.
The model explained that she doesn’t remember a time at school when she wasn’t bullied, insulted, or even pushed down hills.
She explained that the bullying was the worst after surgery and failed to make her smile.
Tayla said she was bullied at school and her pain got worse after she had an eight-hour surgery at age 11.
Tayla said that children will make her feel lonely at school by kicking her and putting a plastic bag on her head. Left in the photo: At school, right: After surgery
In intensive surgery, tissue was added from her right thigh to both corners of her mouth and temple.
“I looked so awful that the nurses and my family wouldn’t let me look in the mirror for a week and a half after the surgery,” Tayla said.
“I thought the surgery would solve all my problems because I was bullied a lot. But it didn’t.’
Saying that it took 12 months to recover from the surgery, Tayla tried to show a brave face when she returned to school.
Tayla started having seizures at the age of 17 due to the stress she was experiencing. Pictured: Tayla photographed for her model portfolio
Tayla said she would be “proud” of her younger self now that she has around 24,000 Instagram followers and a modeling contract.
But the children put plastic bags on his head and kicked him until he fell. She remembers running away from school because she felt lonely and tried to kill herself six times.
Severe traumatic stress triggered dissociative seizures at age 17, and Tayla had up to 10 seizures a day for five months.
“I had such severe depression that doctors told me my mental health was as bad as a soldier suffering from PTSD,” Tayla said.
She continued to embrace her individuality for several years after hitting the gym, going for a walk, and meditating.
Tayla also took control of her situation by editing the Girl Who Can’t Smile Instagram account, where she shared photos from her daily life and provided information about Moebius syndrome and type 1 diabetes.
She explained that not seeing people like her in the media while growing up made her feel “out of the loop.”
However, having a modeling contract made it difficult to resonate with who she is.
Tayla added: “I think little Tayla would be very proud.”
Source: Daily Mail
