The success story of Liya Kebede reminds of a Cinderella story. Her move to the top took determination, hard-work and a spirit that refused to give up against tough odds. A truly inspiring story for all aspiring models.
The Ethopian model grew up in a comfortable middle-class family, the only girl among four boys. Growing up in such an environment lead Liya to develop few girly traits, and exhibit little interest in fashion. At the age of 18, Liya was scouted by a modeling agency and left Africa for France. At the beginning of her modeling career, Liya toiled for a long while, as at this time the fashion industry preferred fair Caucasian women and the occasional Asian girls, there was a very narrow chance for Liya if she would ever achieve the success of other black models like Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek and Iman. But she didn’t gave up and moved to New York City where she gave her modeling career another try. There she still faced consistent rejection and worked mainly as a catalog model until the first fashion designer notice the uniqueness of the beauty. It was at that time the former creative director of Gucci, Tom Ford who casted her in one of his shows. Since then, her grace and her beauty have been seen at several Fashion Weeks around the world, and she has been featured on covers and editorials of namesake fashion magazines. Kebede has also performed in several films, including 2006′s The Good Shepherd and Desert Flower in 2009.
In 2003 Liya Kebede made even bigger headlines, as Este Lauder gave her a multimillion dollar contract and make her the first woman of African origin to become the face of the label in its 60-year history, which pushed her career and made her a new most wanted model for many fashion labels. She has since become an inspiration for minority models to aim for the top.
In addition to her stunning look, Liya is also a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization. The mother of two, who is married to the Ethiopian hedge-fund manager Kassy Kebede, is a passionate advocate for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Care. She established the Liya Kebede Foundation which is dedicated to improving maternal health and she's created a clothing line, Lemlem, which helps support craftswomen in her native Ethiopia by using their colorful textiles.