Precious Lee Bodies The Cover Of ‘Elle Canada’

Precious Lee isn’t just modeling clothes on the May cover of Elle Canada, she’s modeling possibility. She’s modeling pride. She continues to show up, show out and take up space in an industry that for decades told plus-size women we had to shrink ourselves—our bodies, our ambitions, our presence. Her latest magazine cover is another revolutionary moment for Black curvy women around the world.

Lee has strutted down the runway at fashion shows around the world, covered iconic glossies, been the leading lady in music videos, and helped pioneer plus-size bodies in high fashion. In her Elle cover story, the curvy beauty opened up about her decade-long modeling career.

“From the start of my career, I thought it was all kind of silly [that models were divided into categories], because I think a great model is a model that can do it all,’ she says.

Her career has been groundbreaking from the start. She wasn’t just content to “be included”—she demanded visibility. From her history-making walk for Versace’s first plus-size Black model to storming campaigns for brands like Miu Miu and Tommy Hilfiger, Precious Lee didn’t knock on the door of high fashion; she kicked it wide open and brought the rest of us with her.

“All my life, every model that I have loved is able to be a transformer,” she says. “If you can’t transform on different sets or in different clothes or different locations behind different lenses, I think that it just means you have more work to do,” she adds.

For years, mainstream fashion acted as if beauty stopped at a size 6 and a Eurocentric standard. But Precious reminds the world,  reminds me, that Black beauty, in all its brilliance, richness, and joy, belongs wherever it chooses to be.

Precious Lee’s Elle Canada cover isn’t just a moment in fashion. It’s a declaration. It’s a celebration of everything we are and everything we’ve always been. And for women like me, it’s a reminder that we are not just worthy of being seen—we are worthy of taking up space, of being celebrated, and of leading the way.