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Biography |
Liya Kebede was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa
on January 3, 1980. She grew up in a comfortable
middle-class family, the only girl among four boys. Growing
up in such an environment, Liya developed few girly traits,
and exhibited little interest in fashion other than a Naomi
Campbell poster in her room.
Liya wasn't endowed with the features traditionally favored
by Ethiopian men -- namely, a curvaceous figure and big
eyes. Instead, hers was a model's figure; tall and thin. So
she figured she'd try her hand at modeling, starting with a
fashion show at her school. An art director noticed her and
introduced her to a French modeling agency. After finishing
her studies, Liya packed up and moved to Paris.
Liya toiled for a long time at the bottom rungs of the
fashion world. Because the industry preferred fair Caucasian
women and the occasional Asian girl, there was a very narrow
likelihood that Liya would ever achieve the success of other
black models, like Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek and Iman.
Ever persistent, Liya moved to Chicago, then to New York
City in 2000. Despite being in the fashion world's capital,
she still faced consistent rejection, excluding the
occasional lukewarm catalog job. During this time, she
married her husband, Ethiopian hedge-fund manager Kassy
Kebede.
Liya's career would turn around during a Milan fashion show,
when Gucci creative director Tom Ford took notice of her. He
cast her in one of his shows, and suddenly all the big names
that had ignored Liya were lining up. She did runway work
for Donna Karan, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as
editorial shoots for both the American Vogue and its French
edition (who later followed up with a whole issue in Liya's
honor).
In April of 2003 came Liya's biggest modeling coup. Este
Lauder, trying to shake its image as a stale, middle-aged
designer, gave her a multimillion dollar contract, making
Liya the first black face of the label in its 60-year
history.
Escada, Tommy Hilfiger and Yves Saint Laurent used Liya's
revolutionary beauty in their own ad campaigns. Her resume
is a real who's who of designers: Sean John, La Perla, Marc
Jacobs, Moschino, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Versace,
Jean-Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass,
Burberry, Fendi, Hermes, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, Ralph
Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, among many others.
In the hustle of it all, Liya had a son, Suhul. She
continues to focus on her family life as much as she does
her career. In 2005, the World Health Organization, prompted
by her devotion to motherhood, appointed her Goodwill
Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. When
she's not traveling the world raising awareness for the
health of mothers and children, Liya lives in New York City
with her son and husband. |
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