At 27, this model and actress is a well-known figure in the local entertainment industry, celebrated for her stunning looks and success in beauty pageants.

‘Yet, weighing around 104 kg as a teenager, Joanna was relentlessly bullied at school.

Speaking to FMT Lifestyle, she said that much of her initial weight gain stemmed from medical complications when she was born premature.

Having a poor appetite, she was scrawny as a little girl, and doctors, fearing for her long-term health, intervened with injections and weight-inducing pills. Unfortunately, this soon led her to eat without control.

Joanna explained that her family was not alarmed with her new eating habits. In fact, they were relieved. However, what they didn’t anticipate was the rapid weight gain that followed. “By the age of seven, I was already 60kg,” she recalled.

In addition to being overweight for her age, Joanna, raised in an English-speaking household, faced challenges making friends in primary school, as she was not fluent in Malay or any other language.

“I used to aimlessly follow kids around in hopes that they would talk to me,” she admitted, laughing.

Although her childhood was far from perfect, the real nightmare for Joanna began during her teenage years in secondary school. Already weighing over 100kg at the time and attending an all-girls school in Klang, she vividly remembers her first day in class.

“During the assembly, we were all sitting down cross-legged and my legs started to become numb. When it was time to stand up, I immediately fell in front of everyone. Nobody helped me up. Everybody laughed at me, including the teachers.”

She said she is still scarred by the bullying she endured in secondary school.

Her school uniforms were always custom-made as opposed to being bought off the rack, simply because no clothing brand carried her size. “The kids would always try to pick on me for that by going behind me and trying to see the label on my shirt.”

Despite the nightmare her school life had become because of her weight, she said that no one, not even her teachers, ever came to her rescue.

She recalled: “I’ve had teachers tell me, ‘Hey Joanna, can you go to the bilik guru and fetch my bag? Then, you’ll lose some weight.’”

As an only child, she found comfort in the company of her late father, whom she described as her best friend and biggest motivator.

“My father would always say, ‘Hey let’s go to the gym together’, to encourage me to lose weight. But it was always in a positive way.”

Besides her father, music also became Joanna’s refuge, helping her navigate the darkest of times.

“I latched onto Justin Bieber, because I found his story very inspiring. That kind of kept me going and gave me a little hope in life.”

However, as the bullying escalated, she slumped into a depression and began engaging in self-harm. This continued for a while until at one point, she decided enough was enough, and began to work out to shed the weight. She was 15.

She switched to a strict vegetarian diet and exercised at home with just a yoga mat and dumbbells. “It was extremely difficult because I loved fast food like pizzas, burgers, and I had to get rid of all of it.”

After around a year, she had dropped from 104 kg to 53 kg.

Although she slowly regained her confidence, she said nothing much changed at school. “No one actually believed that I did it on my own. People were circulating rumours that I took weight loss pills.”

Years later, on a whim, Joanna entered a beauty pageant and was crowned Miss Selangor Earth 2016. With this achievement, she now advocates for healthy beauty standards and anti-bullying.

“I want people to also look at me one day and say that, if she can do it, I can do it too.”

Follow Joanna Joseph on Instagram.