Taryn Brumfitt 2023 Australia of the Year for her work getting Aussies to 'love ... trends now
Body image positivity campaigner Taryn Brumfitt has been awarded the 2023 Australian of the Year.
The 44-year-old activist, writer, director and public speaker was presented with the honour at a glittering ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday night for her work with the Embrace Body Image Movement, which she founded in 2012.
The movement teaches people to love and appreciate their bodies and has spread far beyond her hometown of Adelaide - where she was also awarded the South Australia of the Year - and sparked a global phenomenon reaching more than 200million people.
Tarryn Brumfitt (pictured), 44, has been named as the 2023 Australian of the Year
The former body builder and mother-of-three (pictured) founded the Embrace Body Image Movement in 2012 which has gone global
Senior Australian of the Year was awarded to Professor Tom Calma AO from the ACT, while Young Australian of the Year went to Socceroo and Barefoot to Boots charity founder Awer Mabil, also from SA.
Professor Calma is an Indigenous human rights and social justice campaigner whose work was the foundaion for the Close the Gap campaign.
He is already an Order of Australia recipient in recognition of his work as an inspirational advocate for human rights and distinguished service to the Indigenous community,
Mabil, originally from Kenya, founded his Barefoot to Boots charity with his brother to promote health, education, and gender equality outcomes for refugees using football as an doorway to connect.
The 27-year-old scored one of the penalties that secured Australia a place in the World Cup, saying that scoring the crucial goal was 'the only way to say thank you to Australia on behalf of my family'.
The 2023 Australian Local Hero award went to Amar Singh from NSW who through his Turbans for Australia charity has tirelessly helped thousands in the community.
Founded in 2015 his charity delivers food hampers to those in need and has helped victims of bushfires and floods which have plagued the country in recent years with food and accommodation relief.
Soccer star 27-year-old Awer Mabil (pictured) was awarded Young Australian of the Year for his work with the charity he founded Barefoot to Boots
Ms Brumfitt is one of Australia's most in-demand keynote speakers and her work in questioning the pervasive image of perfection fed to women and girls through social media and airbrushed advertising has earned her recognition from UN Women.
Her 2016 documentary titled simply Embrace followed her own path to body acceptance and was picked up by Netflix and seen by people in 190 countries.
The mother-of-three followed that up with Embrace Kids in 2022 which is aimed at children between nine and 14-years-old to teach them to respect, move, appreciate and nourish their bodies.
She has also written four best-selling books and created Embrace Hub which offers parents, children, teachers and communities free research based information of fostering body positivity.
The movement has attracted the attention of Hollywood superstars such as Drew Barrymore (pictured) and Rebel Wilson along with talk show host Rebel Wilson
Ms Brumfitt (pictured) previously wrote for Daily Mail Australia that mums should let their daughters see them naked so they learn to accept what normal body image is
Ms Brumfitt previously wrote for Daily Mail Australia that every young girl should see her mother naked to learn what normal bodies look like and that perfection does not equal happiness.
'A mother is a girl's very first and strongest role model - if she sees her embracing her body, seeing it's imperfections as the marks left by life's experiences rather than things to despair about, then she'll stand a much better chance of having a positive relationship with her own,' she said.
'This is a message I feel deeply about, not least because I used to loathe my body, so much so that at my lowest ebb, I considered surgery, in the desperate hope it would make me happy.
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