Katie Sturino | Founder of Megababe
A conversation with Katie Sturino, Founder of Megababe, on challenging the beauty standards that teach women to shrink, turning candid conversations about our bodies into confidence and connection, and creating a culture where every woman feels free to take up space.
You once felt pressure to stay small. What helped you start letting that go and step into your full self?
As far back as I can remember, I felt like I was bigger than everyone around me and I hated it. I am tall and big boned and my voice is loud. There is nothing subtle about my physical appearance and yet, for the first 30 years of my life I willed myself to be smaller. At first through diet and exercise and then through people pleasing.Despite all my efforts to try an fit into a certain mold, my first marriage ended and I was convinced I would never find love again. I ended up gaining a lot of weight through the process but what I found was not more self hatred, it was freedom from the box I was trying to fit into. I realized that my style and confidence came from inside and I started to shine.
What did being overlooked by traditional fashion spaces teach you about visibility, and what changed when you decided to create your own space instead?
The traditional fashion and influencer spaces have a massive, unspoken rule: if you’re plus-size, you are invisible and you do not get a voice. For a long time, those gatekeepers made me feel so unsafe and totally ignored. So I just said, "Alright, we're going to build our own lane." I completely bypassed them and started The 12ish Style to connect directly with people who felt ignored.. Once you have thousands of women backing you up, you realize you don't need some outdated industry's permission to speak. We built our own psychological safety, and now we own the room!
Who helped you trust yourself during a season of major change, and what did their belief in you make possible?
Carole Radziwill completely shifted my mindset at a Christmas party right after my divorce. She looked right at me and told me to "ride the horse in the direction that it’s going." It was exactly what I needed to hear! She shared her own wisdom on navigating major life shake-ups, which lifted a massive emotional weight off my shoulders and gave me permission to stop fighting reality. Around that same time, my manager and agent stepped up and treated my voice like a real, valuable business asset when I felt most vulnerable. They took my vision seriously when I needed it most!
What has building a community of women taught you about the difference between carrying rejection alone and turning it into collective advocacy?
I used to carry 100% of the emotional load; constantly temperature-checking my relationships and stressing over my looks just to make everyone else comfortable. I'm so over that!
Today, emotional equity is the backbone of my work. My community of followers and female entrepreneurs carry that weight together. When a brand decides to ignore plus-size women, we don’t sit in a corner and carry that rejection quietly. We launch campaigns like #MakeTheSize and call it out collectively! Knowing I have a whole army standing with me gives me the ultimate confidence to speak up. I am never standing alone!
What has letting go of body shame taught you about self-worth? What do you hope others feel permission to stop waiting for before they fully live their lives?
My story is proof that when you stop pretending everything is fine and you end the internal silence of body shame, you can turn total pain into a joyful, thriving life! When I look at old photos of myself, I don't see "skinny" – I see a strained, unhappy smile.
Today, I see pure joy. Through my advocacy and my book, Sunny Side Up, and most of all Megababe, the big shift I want to nurture is getting women to completely untangle their self-worth from a tag size. We are so incredibly quick to blame our bodies when life gets messy, like a divorce. I want to help women realize this isn't your body's fault so stop waiting to change and start living your best life right now! Rage, not weakness, and where no woman feels she has to suffer in silence the way I once did.
“When you stop pretending everything is fine, and you end the internal silence of body shame, you can turn total pain into a joyful, thriving life!”
About Katie
Katie Sturino is an entrepreneur, author, and body acceptance advocate. As the founder of Megababe, Katie has created an innovative beauty brand offering non-toxic, solution-oriented products that empower people to feel more comfortable and confident in their own skin. Known for their cult-favorite, taboo-busting products like Thigh Rescue, Bust Dust, Le Tush, and Butt Stuff, Megababe is available worldwide at Walmart, Amazon, Target, Boots and more.
With her book Body Talk, an illustrated workbook released in 2021, and her debut novel Sunny Side Up (Celadon Books, 2025), Katie leans into her signature candor and humor to tell stories that empower women to improve the relationship they have with their body.
Through her body acceptance work, Katie empowers people of all sizes to find their confidence and celebrate their style. Her regular content series, #SuperSizeTheLook and “Weight Isn't News” have gone viral, reaching millions of people and attracting global media attention. In 2024, when Katie called out WeightWatchers for their perpetuation of #DietCulture, Katie was invited to join Oprah on stage to unpack that topic.
As trailblazing beauty founder and leading voice in the body acceptance movement, Katie has been named one of Adweek’s Women Trailblazers, and appeared on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the Drew Barrymore Show, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, and Vogue.
Connect Further
Website: https://megababebeauty.com/ Instagram: @katiesturino | LinkedIn: Katie Sturino