WORLD'S UGLIEST WOMAN: “People Should Stop Staring And Start Learning”…World's ‘Ugliest Woman’ Gives Courageous Interview

Battle: Lizzie Velasquez says she has had to face being stared at and bullied because of her unusual looks


She has been ridiculed, stared at in the street and called 'the world's ugliest woman' by insensitive cyber bullies. But, after years of misery and self doubt, Lizzie Velasquez says she can finally shrug off the hurtful comments about her looks as 'just words'.

Miss Velasquez, from Austin, Texas, was born without adipose tissue - meaning she has no body fat and, despite eating up to 60 small meals a day, remains at a delicate 4.4stone (58lbs).

The rare condition still baffles doctors and is thought to affect just two other people worldwide. Miss Velazquez has now written a second book about her struggle to be accepted and hopes it will help others in a similar position.

In Be Beautiful, Be You the 23-year-old college senior shares advice on being unique, how to make and keep good friends and how to deal with bullying and negativity.

Dinner: Miss Velasquez says she has to eat high calorie food every 15-20 minutes to keep her energy level high

Speaking to Dr Drew Pinsky on Tuesday night about her experiences, Miss Velasquez said when cyber bullies first started attacking her online it was hard. Miss Velasquez also revealed she does not have any desire to look like a beautiful celebrity.

Despite the grim prognosis Miss Velasquez's brain, bones and internal organs developed normally but she was always very small. At the age of two she was still only 15lbs - the same as the average five-month-old baby.

Born with two brown eyes, when Miss Velasquez was four the right began to cloud and change hue. Doctors then discovered she had gone blind in that eye. 'They still don't know why it happened but now I have one blue and one brown eye.'

Born this way: Miss Velasquez, aged two, (left) and pictured a couple of years ago, right. The university student has never weighed more than 4.3stone. She went blind in one eye aged four

Miss Velasquez's case has fascinated doctors all over the world and she is part of a genetic study run by Professor Abhimanyu Garg at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Professor Garg and his team now believe Miss Velasquez may have a form of Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome (NPS), which causes accelerated ageing, fat loss from the face and body, and tissue degeneration. People with PRS often have triangular and prematurely aged faces with a pointy nose.

He said: 'I am aware of a small number of people that have similar conditions to Lizzie but each case is slightly different’. We cannot predict what will happen to Lizzie in the future, as the medical community are yet to document older people with NPS.

'However Lizzie is lucky to have healthy teeth, organs and bones so the outlook is good. We will continue to study her case and learn from her.' Miss Velasquez doesn't take medication but she relies on vitamin supplements and iron to stay healthy. It is thought she should be able to conceive naturally without passing the condition to her children.

Her new book is out on September 13.