Brazilian oil giant Petrobras (PBR) has been the ugly duckling of big oil companies.

FORBES: A Break For Brazil's Petrobras?

Garcia has been especially adept at feathering his own nest with Ugly Duckling's assets.

FORBES: Feathered Nest

When peeled and cooked, this ugly duckling vegetable will become a true culinary swan.

NPR: The Vegetable World's Ugly Duckling: Celeriac

Despite his unattractive past, Garcia quickly built Ugly Duckling into the top seller and financer of used cars for people with lousy credit histories.

FORBES: Feathered Nest

However, these functions are sometimes treated as the ugly duckling.

FORBES: Security, Disaster Recovery Or Audit: Which Matters Most?

In contrast, the current Subaru WRX is an ugly duckling.

FORBES: New York Auto Show: Subaru Unveils The New Subaru WRX

LinkedIn was long an ugly duckling of social media.

WSJ: LinkedIn: The Ugly Duckling of Social Media

When I was a kid, I remember my mom read the fairy tale about the ugly duckling, a story about a hideous, huge baby duck that can't fit in with the other ducks.

NPR: Acting the Swan to Overcome the Duck

Laura Benanti, who plays the ugly-duckling daughter who blossoms into Gypsy Rose Lee in the show, received the featured actress award.

BBC: Pacific scoops seven Tony Awards

Slovakia's transformation is remarkable given its ugly-duckling history.

FORBES: Fact and Comment