Move over Taylor Swift! There’s a new face representing CoverGirl… Her name: Talia Castellano, an inspiring Latweena with a smile that lights up a room.
During a visit to The Ellen Degeneres Show on Wednesday, the 13-year-old Florida girl battling two forms of cancer was named an honorary Cover Girl, even receiving a framed poster with her likeness. Following her diagnosis some years ago, Castellano learned all about makeup as a way to deal with the disease.
“When I was first diagnosed six years ago, my mom’s friend Tammy… she also is a cancer survivor, she brought me to her house, so we could like bond and talk about stuff,” recalled Castellano to Ellen. “And basically she showed me her makeup and ever since I was like fascinated with the colors and the things and it was just amazing.”
Castellano launched a YouTube page, where she offers tutorials on makeup application. Her helpful tips and bubbly personality have earned her channel, taliajoy18, more than 14.5 million views.
“How do you stay so positive?” DeGeneres asked Talia, whose cancer treatment options, including a bone marrow transplant, are running low.
“When people ask me that, I’m just, ‘What do you want me to do? Be depressed?” said Talia, who’s recently returned from a summer at Sunrise Day Camp, a program dedicated to children with cancer.
“A little fishy just told me, ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,” added Castellano, referring to Ellen’s character Dory, a resident optimist, in 2003′s animated Disney movie Finding Nemo.
CoverGirl also gifted Castellano with a makeup table stocked with the brand’s products, as well as a check for $20,000.
“I’ve always been a really bubbly girl, and my mom always tells me to think about the positive,” Castellano told People magazine last month. “Even though cancer is a negative, horrible thing, there are positives. For people to see that there are kids that get cancer … it’s just a true fact. Me putting a face on it makes a difference.”
To follow Talia’s story and progress, subscribe to her YouTube channel. And to learn more about registering with the National Marrow Donor Program, visit marrow.org.