When you think “supermodel,” do you think of someone who is socially conscious or who cares about others? Maybe you should, because more and more, models at all levels of success are speaking and acting out for social justice. Gigi Hadid has used her successful career as a model to stand up for herself and others, even though the world merely expects her to pose.
Hadid was born Jelena Noura Hadid on April 23, 1995 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Mohamed Hadid, is a real estate developer who traces his Palestinian heritage back to the mid-18th century under nominal Ottoman rule. Her mother is Dutch-American television personality Yolanda Hadid Foster. The family spent time in the Netherlands as well as the United States while Hadid was growing up. Her professional name, Gigi, grew from a need to differentiate herself from another student with a similar-sounding name in early grade school; the nickname stood the test of time.
Modeling runs in her family, with not only her mother a former model but one sister and one brother also in the business. Hadid started modeling as a toddler when she was just two years old, but she also had a love for sports and education before hitting it big with modeling in 2014. Volleyball was one of her favorite sports, and she tried out for the Junior Olympic qualifiers in that field at one point. Her skills and love of equestrian sports led her to try to make the Olympic team in 2016, but she fell victim to Lyme disease, which can be devastating to people’s lives. Also in 2016, Hadid revealed that she had been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, which attacks the body’s thyroid gland; neither illness has held back her career.
As a model, she has been named to some important fashion lists, including the Hot List, the Top 50 Models, and the Top Sexiest Models, over the past six years. Hadid has appeared on numerous covers, such as Harper’s Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and CR Fashion Book. Hadid does not fit the ultrathin model stereotype, and she has repeatedly and bravely stood up to critics. She has even gone beyond modeling to work as a designer with Tommy Hilfiger. As many models have, she turned to other forms of entertainment. with a few credits as both a television celebrity and an actor. She even has at least one credit as director for her work on the music video for the 2015 song Cake by the Ocean from DNCE; the pseudo-sports theme coupled with some body diversity in that video now makes sense when we consider Hadid’s love of and background in athletic competition.
Most models are content to focus on their careers or families, expanding into different areas of entertainment, but Hadid has done more than that. Hadid is an activist for the UNICEF programs in Bangladesh. In 2020, she will be a panelist and an ambassador for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Such charitable works aren’t uncommon for celebrities, but turning to political commentary can be a death sentence to a career.
Beyond speaking out for her right to be a supermodel regardless of her body size, she self-identifies as a feminist who believes that the best thing one can do as a member of that group is to support other women. She has physically fought back against harassers and runway crashers. Her most public action may be when she stood up for the rights of religious groups and ethnicities after President Trump began enacting travel bans in 2017. Most often she uses her massive social media following to speak out on a range of political issues from immigration to trans rights.
As with most celebrities, one can find instances where we can criticize her behavior on or off social media. Hadid has had her share of such criticism, though not as many as one might expect from someone so much in the public eye. As she continues her career in entertainment and deals with two life-changing illnesses, we hope she keeps supporting other women and using her platform to speak up for equality.