Woman Within
Yvette Nicole Brown is a woman who wears many hats. She’s an actress, she can sing, she does voice work for animated series, and in her spare time, she discusses all things zombie apocalypse as a regular guest on AMC’s Talking Dead, which is the aftershow of the hit series, The Walking Dead.
She can now add “model” to her resume.
Specifically, the 46-year-old beauty is taking part in a Mother’s Day campaign for Woman Within, which is an apparel company that is focused on size inclusivity for women. The campaign features both real moms and TV moms (Brown has played one on ABC’s The Mayor and was Michael Bivins’s mom in BET’s The New Edition Story). And speaking of inclusivity, the campaign also celebrates moms of all kinds, including single moms, grandmothers — hell, even “dog moms.”
Brown is happy to take part and strut her stuff for the company’s very cute (and chic) campaign.
“I thought the Woman Within campaign idea was a fun way to embrace body diversity,” she says. “This campaign was a great opportunity to talk to different women and learn more about their experiences as mothers. I’m not a mother myself but I have played one numerous times on TV and film, and I also had an amazing mother that influenced my career a lot. There’s nothing that she wouldn’t do for a laugh.”
But aside from teaching her daughter how to have a stellar sense of humor, Brown’s mother also taught her some serious life-changing lessons.
“The most important lesson my mom taught me was to never give up. She was a single mom, raising me and my brother, and she always had a smile on her face—even when times were tough,” she says. “She told us that if you hang in long enough, one day, it’ll be your turn. So, I find that is the greatest lesson she taught me—to keep going.”
And aside from showing love to moms and promoting body positivity, perks of taking part in this endeavor for Woman Within also include getting to enjoy styling and profiling in some lovely threads. And as someone who has shed a lot of weight over the last few years (to help get control of a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis), Brown has the chance to wear a lot more and enjoy taking all sorts of style risks. But the star says her fashion sense hasn’t morphed much at all since she’s slimmed down.
“My style hasn’t changed to be honest,” she says. “I still love comfortable and fitting clothes. I consider my style very hip which fits perfectly with Woman Within. I love wearing a statement sweater with comfortable heels – it is an easy day to night look!”
Woman Within
As for how she has been able to stay in good health and maintain her weight loss since embarking on her journey in 2014, Brown says she decided to stop focusing on how good junk food tastes, and more on how being healthy feels.
“After I found out that I had diabetes a few years ago, it was clear that I had to change my lifestyle,” she says. “I’ve always been very comfortable with my body and never really tried to lose weight for vanity. When I was diagnosed, I realized that as good as donuts are, not feeling sick is way better. The key to a healthy diet for me is moderation and proportion. I’ve learned how to eat smaller portions to stay on track with my glucose levels. I also try to move a bit every day, even if it’s just a walk around my neighborhood, because that helps keep my glucose numbers down. I get cravings like everyone else, but my glucose number is the only number that matters to me.”
And while she has played a mother on TV, when it comes to being a parent in real life, she’s can’t say for sure if it’s meant for her, but one can never say never.
“I haven’t seen motherhood personally, yet… and I may have timed out [laughs],” Brown jokes. “But I have a deep admiration for all mothers and that’s why I decided to join this powerful campaign.”
