Categories: Beauty

Ellen Keane: ‘Strong. Empowered. Beautiful. Free. All the things I never thought I’d feel about my body.’


by Holly O'Neill
22nd Nov 2019

From the November issue of IMAGE, six Irish women reflect on what beauty means to them.


What is beauty today? For the last three years, photographer Lee Malone’s passion project has been to challenge perceptions of beauty by capturing women in their most natural, make-up-free state. In the November issue of IMAGE, he photographed six women who opened up to Holly O’Neill about what beauty means to them. Here, Ellen Keane tells her story.

PORTRAITS BY LEE MALONE

Ellen Keane, elite athlete and Paralympic swimmer

“Strong. Empowered. Beautiful. Free.

All the things I never thought I’d feel about my body.

They are words that every woman has the right to feel about herself. They are words I started to believe about myself in recent years.

These were all the things I felt during this shoot. Lee’s photographs help empower women of all shapes and sizes, and I am proud and honoured to be part of this shoot.”

Lee Malone is hoping to publish his Perceptions of Beauty book of portraits next year with money raised going towards various women’s mental health and domestic abuse charities. @lee_malone_photography

This article originally appeared in the November issue of IMAGE Magazine.

Read more: We need to talk about Trilogy’s €15.95 Everything Balm

Read more: Hair Stories: Mary Dunne on how her grey hair has made her more confident now than ever

Read more: Can we talk about… the 25-year anniversary edition of MAC Viva Glam Lipstick

X

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

Privacy Settings