If there was a hall of fame for just models, then Gigi Hadid will definitely be named one of the greatest models of all time.
Born in April 1995 to big-shot real estate dad Mohamed Hadid and model mother Yolanda Hadid Foster, who is on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Hadid path in modeling was set in stone.
Noting her unique pedigree, Hadid has a very exotic appearance. She has the all-American athleticism, but her lush features are a striking combination of her Middle Eastern and Dutch ancestry making her a sight to behold.
Unlike anonymous models of the recent past, Hadid, 28, is a personality and not just a photogenic mannequin. With their potent combination of family lineage, social-media influence, and sex appeal, Hadid and her fellow new-generation models like Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner are a unique flare in the modeling industry.
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Speaking on her choice to be a model with W magazine, Gigi stated “I have always been aware of the business side of this industry. I’ve always seen it as a career that required work and planning. She was raised in a wealthy Santa Barbara enclave, but her manner is always intentionally polite, to counter the assumption that, as she put it, I’m a stuck-up bitch because of how I grew up. She continued: My mom was a model. She met my dad when he was building the Ritz-Carlton in Colorado and she was modeling there. Although we were very blessed, my parents never wanted us to believe we didn’t have to work. They didn’t want us to think that our situation would get us through life.
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At the tender age of 2 She landed her first modeling job, for Baby Guess. “Paul Marciano [the cofounder of Guess] was a family friend, and he saw me and wanted to shoot me when I was just a baby, Hadid recalled. “I did that until I was around 8 or 9, and then my mom took me out of modeling. She wanted me to pursue other things.
However, after the divorce of her parent, Gigi decided she wanted to be the best in any career she embarked on, so she went back to modeling In her junior year of high school.
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Shortly after, she was signed by IMG Models. After high school, she moved to New York, and within months, Carine Roitfeld, the influential stylist, and editor, had introduced Hadid to the designer Tom Ford, who cast her as the face (and body) of Velvet Orchid, his new fragrance. A star was born.
Yes, I was nude, but nude works with fragrance! Hadid said, referring to the racy ad in which she is shown lounging on swaths of iridescent fabric. I’ve never been scared of being naked in pictures, but I wouldn’t do naked for naked’s sake. With Tom, it was an easy decision: When you think of scent, you don’t think of clothes. She paused. In the beginning, I thought Tom would not want to know my name. But he made a space for me in the high-fashion world. When Tom liked me, other jobs followed.
Although her family connections played a big role in her success, Gigi has never once taken her position in the industry for granted. Her mega-successful songwriter and record-producer stepfather, David Foster definitely smoothed her path. Through her stepfather, who was once married to Caitlyn Jenner’s ex-wife Linda Thompson, Hadid is related to the Jenner-Kardashian clan making Kendall a sort of sister.
In 2016, Gigi was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. And she has made a huge impact in the modeling industry since her first big break. She has currently made over 40 appearances in International Vogue and is also one of the highest-paid models in the world.