Shaholly Ayers

Shaholly Ayers is a model, actress, and disability advocate who has contributed to evolving the fashion and entertainment industries' perspectives on beauty and inclusion. Born without her right arm, Ayers is a congenital amputee who began her modeling career after moving to Hawaii. Despite early rejection from a modeling agency due to her disability, Ayers collaborated with photographers and makeup artists to build her portfolio and approached local boutiques to model for them.

Ayers' career includes several notable achievements. Her first major paid assignment was with Nordstrom, and she became the first amputee model to walk in New York Fashion Week without a prosthesis. She participated in New York Fashion Week for six consecutive seasons and received invitations to walk in both New York and Milan Fashion Week. Ayers has modeled for national brands such as Third Love, Zappos, Ulta Beauty, and Rihanna's Savage x Fenty. Her work has been featured in GQ Italia, GQ Japan, US Weekly, The New York Times, and the Guardian. She has appeared on Megyn Kelly Today and Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family," as well as in stories on Today.com and Shape.com.

In addition to modeling, Ayers has pursued acting and advocacy. She made her acting debut as Maria in Hailey Gates' film "Atropia," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Ayers has also appeared in national television commercials, furthering disability representation in entertainment.

Ayers is the co-founder of Limbs for Love, an organization supporting at-risk youth. She serves as an ambassador for Global Disability Inclusion LLC, which develops marketing strategies for Fortune 500 companies to promote workforce inclusivity, particularly for people with disabilities in fashion and entertainment. As an ambassador for the prosthetic brand Ottobock, Ayers has raised awareness about accessibility challenges faced by people with disabilities, especially in travel. Her advocacy emphasizes the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in mainstream media and marketing, and she continues to work toward greater inclusion across industries.