I still remember meeting Mia Amber Davis at a Plus Academy open house many years ago. She had scripted a monologue and was performing it in front of everyone. She had a little round mirror, and would look at herself in the mirror and say “I’m beautiful!” and then tell us all the things that society were saying about us that was negative, and then go back to the little mirror and say “I’m beautiful!”. It was almost like a speech and she wanted everyone to know, that despite what anyone out there says “we were beautiful”. Mia stood up and received a standing ovation and I was in love with the Road Trip star from that day.
As the years went by, we traveled together – worked together and have seen each other through the ups and downs of life. I was seven month’s pregnant when we got the call from the producers of the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency show, and when I was not cleared to travel to be on the show, it was Mia who faced Janice and boldly stood up to her. Mia was not a confrontational person, but she knew how to face her opponents, and she faced Meme Roth on CNN (watch video here), the year after the Janice Show, again proving that she was much more than just a model, but a role model we could look up to.
What you have read on Facebook is all true, Mia Amber was an angel – a compassionate person who always thought about others before herself. She always stopped to speak with anyone who asked for her time, and never felt she was too good to help, encourage or comfort anyone.
Mia was a super model and industry leader because it was her love for the women she represented that kept pushing her when the industry itself did not embrace her. Anyone else would have given up, but Mia remained steadfast in her career, knowing that she was not just doing it for her own benefit, but for women of all ages. Never one to put anyone down, Mia was about lifting up people and connecting them with others to help them on their journey and never asking for anything in return.
I have so many stories running through my head, so many experiences and laughs we shared, and as I sit here with a heavy heart, I pray that her life and everyone’s stories will motivate all of us to live a healthy life (Mia was about being healthy at your size), a positive life (supporting and being kind to others), and walking through life as a loving person. Seems nearly impossible in this day and age, but this is who Mia was and who we should strive to be like every day. Let’s not take anyone for granted, and live each day with love in our hearts while living it to the fullest – this is what Mia would want her legacy to be.
Today we lost our dear friend, plus size model, industry leader and colleague but we have one more heavenly angel watching over us.
Please keep Mia’s mother, husband, family and friends in your prayers.
Rest in Peace my love.
About Editor-in-Chief, Madeline Jones
Always an activist and looking to bring plus size women into a fashion forward mentality, in 2006 she combined forces with friend and online magazine publisher, Valery Amador, to create PLUS Model Magazine, where they could respond to plus women's demand for fashionable clothing displayed prominently on appropriately sized models. Since then, Ms. Jones has quickly become the, 'Anna Wintour' of the plus size industry where she is frequently called upon for her expertise and insight; Appearances and interviews include ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, Entertainment Tonight, Coco Perez, Fox News, HuffingtonPost.com and 200+ other media sources.
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Related posts:
- Friend and Fellow Model Shante Gordon Remembers Mia Amber Davis
- My Memories of My Friend Mia Amber Davis-Yard – By Sharon Quinn
- Mia Amber Davis’ Sudden Death Leaves Many Stunned and Searching for Answers- Official Media Release
- Getting To Know Our Cover Model Mia Amber Davis
- Mia Amber Davis – A Vision of Beauty
Maddy, this article was simply beautiful and a perfect tribute to Mia. Mia is smiling down from heaven and we now have another angel on our side. I know how much she meant to you, Plus Model Magazine and the Plus Size Community, however her legacy of support and advocacy for the plus size community will live on forever.
We don’t want to question why God takes those who seem to be in the prime of their life, but know that one day we will understand and we WILL see Mia and all the others that we have lost in heaven.
I will continue to keep Mia’s husband, mother, family and friends in prayer.
Love you Maddy Poo!
Not only is this an AMAZING article but you Mrs. Madeline Figueroa-Jones are so brave and strong for paying tribute to your very close friend and co-worker at this time. Mia would be be pround of you and im sure that she is smiling down on you at this very moment!!!!!!! I dont even think Mia has no idea how many people that love and adore her talent, beauty and friendly personailty!!! She might have only been here with us for a short time but she has left us with soooooo much!!!! Thank you Maddy and I am so blessed to have seen her grace the runway in person!!!!
Omg…..what happened to her? Mia was a beautiful woman!
Beautifully said Maddy. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Her legacy will definitely live on and her story will continue to inspire women for years to come. Be strong and I’m always here if you need anything. xoxo
Sending prayers to her family and you in your time of loss. Beautiful words spoken of a beautiful woman!
beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman. Rest in peace Mia. <3
She sounds like an amazing and wonderful person. I said a prayer for her family.
This is a beautiful tribute Madeline, and her legacy will continue to grow and inspire women every where. She will not be forgotten. R.I.P Mia <3
What a beautiful tribute. So happy I was able tto meet her. She was allll of the above and then some.
I just found her Twitter 5 minutes ago & then found out she passed
she was so beautiful & an amazing woman, rest in peace lady, you will be missed!
peace n paradise 2 a beautiful person…mia…u will b missed &this is such a beauitul tribute 2 her…..heartfelt prayers 2 her family &friends….your words..”i celebrate my curves” will b 4ever n my <3
I’m in shock and this is sad to hear. Mia was so beautiful and well respected by me. She is one of the first plus models I followed when I decided to get into plus modeling. My prayers and with her family and friends.
I’ve never lost a dear friend, I can only imagine. Prayers with the family & friends, and let’s celebrate the life this beautiful woman lived!
Maddy I am so saddened to hear about Mia. She was a beautiful person and will be missed dearly. I remember us working on the Dangerous Curves tour in DC together and I introduced her to my daughter, who’s name is also Mia. She was so tickled by that and Mia gave her the most beautiful words of wisdom… My daughter still remembers that til this day. She was a beautiful woman inside and out.
Thank you for sharing this heartfelt article. My heart and prayers go out to Mia’s family and friends.
what am amazing post and tribute to Mia, thank you
i think im still in shock….mia have always been an inspiration to me…i remember watching her on interviews and thinking she is amazing and strong and i love women like that especially a bbw…mia u will be missed and i will smile when i think about u…condolences to ur family and friends…U WERE AN ANGEL ON EARTH AND NOW U ARE AN ANGEL IN HEAVEN…R.I.P…..
I am so incredibly saddened by the news of Mia’s passing, I can attest to her approachability despite her star status. Thanks so much Maddy for putting this tribute together. Unbeleivable to think that this all resulted after a routine knee surgery. I pray they get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding her death, and that her family have peace in the time of sorrow.
Thanks to you as well for all you do for the plus community. You are loved, remembered and respected for your contribution. Hopefully our paths will cross soon.
Peace and blessings to you and yours,
Joyce Licorish
Beautifully said Maddy. Thank you so much for writing this and for giving a true tribute to Mia. She was a beautiful person inside and out and will be truly missed and remembered fondly in our community.
xoxo
S
Such a major LOSS. Her beauty – both inner and outer – touched so many.
She will be missed and she is loved.
Maddy,
This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for your reflections of MIA. This is a major loss for the PLUS COMMUNITY but i want to encourage everyone to continue to keep her legacy alive.
I love you maddy and i pray for your strength.
Rhonda Wilkins
XOXO
I’m still in shock at the sadness and departing of our beautiful Mia..rest in peace Mia..we will always love you for you what you have done for us and more in the plus size industry
Right now I am sad and shock speechless my mother had the same surgey and came out fine, oh how could this happen I hope the family gets some answers so they can have peace. I am shock speechless, but I will say this. As a plus size actress myelf she was a inspiration to me. I do remeber her in that scene in Road trip, when I saw the seen I said to myself wow what a brave women to get on
and be confident about her body. It made me confident and how brave she was to go on cnn and take on that ignorate women spreading her hate predujce of plus size women. Mia showed her true beauty and she was not afraid to take these people head on. Her strength and courage made her beatiful not her dress size. She will be missed. I hope all plus size women everyhere continue what she started .
im so sorry we lost a great person
Thank you for the wonderful article Maddy. I’m still broken up about it……
As Canon Henry Scott-Holland preached at the death of King Edward (as his service in London, England, 1910 ) – The thoughts that this Canon wrote are priceless in this moment of grief ….They give one a sense of hope to what the future will be and what one had…
Remember this Maddy….and please share this sermon with her husband and family in this very surreal, sad time….xoMichele
“Death is nothing at all/
It does not count.
I have only slipped into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together
is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let me name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight>
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
just around the corner.
All is well.
Nothing it hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and it will as be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
@ Michele: beautiful …
Beautiful Tribute Maddy, I know that it must have been hard to sit down and write at a time like this. I didn’t know her, but I definitely looked up to her body of work. This is a great loss not only for the Curvy Community, but society in general.
I’ll never understand why things like this happen to good people. It’s so sad… she was so young and I’m sure that she is just as shocked as we are to learn that her days here on earth with us has ended. I think she deserves a final “going home” celebration in your next issues. All of us at Plusologie are shocked and grief stricken to learn of plus model Mia Amber’s death, and express profound sorrow and condolences for her family.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute, Maddy. Mia had the most lovely smile, and it shined through her eyes. As everyone has noted, she was beautiful inside and out; she had a beautiful soul. I imagine Heaven is celebrating her arrival. And thank you, Michele, for your post. My prayers and condolences to all her family and friends.
I have an anonymous poem that I found after the death of my husband, and I read it often. I hope it will give you comfort.
“Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at ight.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.”
I can’t believe she is gone Mia Amber she will be sadly missed I got a chance to meet her at the Monfi C Show Room before and she was a really nice down to earth person beautiful in the inside and out. Prays Go Out To her Family and Husband
Memories when I first met Mia Amber Davis she helped me get into one of Monfi C’s beautiful dresses and I gained and couple of pounds and Mia told me to suck my tummy in so she could zip up my dress up I told her I gain someone weight I just love good food that taste good and were laughing while she helped zipped up my dress in the ladies bathroom I was so hot in the dress but it looked good on me though with the matching disco ball earrings she picked for me to try on but it was funny though lol
Hey Maddy,
Beautiful tribute…She was truly a JEWEL for the curvy community, very humble & very intelligent. Mia was a woman to watch. I know she was very dear to you, understand God has ALL the answers you need, so call on the name of Jesus when you can’t say anything else. He will answer…..Love You Maddy & PMM…From My HEART to Yours…C.M.Tidwell!
Hi Maddy love, again, i am extremely sympathetic for your pain and the pain of her fam. this was an amazing article.
love you mama
God Bless You and Keep you … I will remember your family in my prayers tonight… God Bless
Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful tribute. Mia was such an inspiration and will be missed by so many. I’m still in shock that she’s gone. She was such a beautiful person both inside and out. I will keep her family in my prayers. God Bless and again thanks for sharing
Still in shock. @Plusmodelmag Plus Size Industry Icon Mia Amber Davis Passes Away But Leaves Her Legacy Behind http://ow.ly/1cBkMc
RT @lanebryant: A touching tribute to plus model Mia Amber who passed on unexpectedly yesterday: http://ow.ly/4RWmo #plusmodelmag #laneb …
Plus-Model-Mag.com posts touching tribute to Mia Amber Davis… http://fb.me/Vi0oloWS
RT @RevoltRealWomen: Plus-Model-Mag.com posts touching tribute to Mia Amber Davis… http://fb.me/Vi0oloWS
RT @RevoltRealWomen: Plus-Model-Mag.com posts touching tribute to Mia Amber Davis… http://fb.me/Vi0oloWS
RT @Plusmodelmag: RT @RevoltRealWomen: Plus-Model-Mag.com posts touching tribute to Mia Amber Davis… http://fb.me/Vi0oloWS
I can’t wrap my mind around it, and honestly I don’t know if I want to. 2nd sleepless night, looking at all her beautiful pics, This is another of those I have to file under the “will never understand” columns in my mind and leave it there because it is to unreasonable for me to grasp.
RT @Plusmodelmag: RT @RevoltRealWomen: Plus-Model-Mag.com posts touching tribute to Mia Amber Davis… http://fb.me/Vi0oloWS
RT @lanebryant: A touching tribute to plus model Mia Amber who passed on unexpectedly yesterday: http://ow.ly/4RWmo #plusmodelmag #laneb …
I was shocked when I heard the news of Mia’s sudden passing. I recently lost my uncle and his funeral service was on the same day Mia passed. I remembered looking at everyone gathered together at the funeral and thinking, this man was soooo loved. There were sooo many people there and it was almost like a family reunion because people from near and far gathered all over to say their last goodbyes. I never met Mia but it was one of my dreams to see her and tell her in person just how much I admired and loved her. I was hoping to meet her at FFFW when she would receive her award. I wrote her an e-mail when I first started modeling and was surprised when I recieved a response from her addressing me by my name…that to me was so sweet because I wasn’t expecting it, knowing she probably had a million people e-mailing her. A lot of what I learned about plus modeling I got right off of her Model Mayhem page and I admire her work and dedication to self-love. I am sooooo very sorry to hear that she has passed away and I am praying for her husband, family and friends during this difficult time. She will forever be remembered for she truly was BEAUTIFUL inside and out.
Beautiful tribute to Mia Amber Davis. Maddy you are a beautiful woman. I cried when I heard the news yesterday. I saw her pic and the heading. All I kept thinking was no someone tell me this is not true. I wished I had sent her an email to let her know how she inspires me and keeps me standing tall. She was truly one in a million. Now, she is passing the baton. To all current and inspiring plus-size models keep knocking down those barriers, doors, and any other obstacles. Like she said, “you are beautiful.” My prayers go out to her family, friends, and associates.
Absolutely beautiful write up Maddy…brought tears to my eyes. She was such a beautiful person inside and out and we will always treasure her memory. I am honored to have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with her and my prayers definitely go out to our faiily for their loss. Blessings to you Maddy for your strength in writing this and I will keep you in my prayers as well.
With Love,
Samantha
When I first crossed over into plus size modeling I contacted her for advice. She got right back to me. She was a lovely young woman and I admired her greatly. She was truly my inspiration. Her family and friends are in my prayers. Thank you for the beautiful article.
Maddy this is a great tribute. It is bitter-sweet. I am sooo soo sad and shocked and it is still so hard to believe. I just want to send some love and light your way. I know you two were so close and built this Plus Model Magazine together. Love and peace to you sis. By the way I wrote a blog/tribute to her memory as well as recognized you in it. http://plus-size-acting-network.webs.com/apps/blog/show/7022500-in-honor-of-the-life-memory-of-mia-amber-davis
Love,
Rene
I am so shocked and saddened by this news. She was so young and of life, and amazingly gorgeous! I remember seeing in the comedy Road Trip and thought she looked so beautiful and sexy. It led to seek out her modeling work. Mia Amber Davis had a confidence, kindness and compassion for others; she was beautiful both inside and out. My heart to goes out to her husband and her family at this dark time. Rest in peace Mia.