Admit it, when Gigi Hadid started being talked about in the modeling world, you knew her as Kendall Jenner’s blonde friend. It’s fine; I did it too. Fast forward about two years, and she’s taking the world by storm.
Daughter of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Yolanda Foster, Gigi’s name first came into the spotlight due to her rare appearances on the show. Then she was on Sports Illustrated. Then she was the new face of Guess. This week, she was nude on the cover of Vogue Paris. She could be just the girl next door; she does have the angelic face and charisma that qualify her for that position but, as Vanity Fair puts it, she and BFF Kendall are “the ‘most popular’ girls right now.” And Gigi goes beyond being just a model; she’s been in various music videos (including new boyfriend Zayn’s ‘Pillowtalk’), went on Masterchef and famously speaks about Lyme Disease and body shaming.
So far, Gigi has landed the cover of six different Vogues, walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, starred in a Balmain campaign, and is designing an exclusive line with Tommy Hilfiger. When it comes to Fashion Week, she has walked for Chanel, Versace, Anna Sui, Jeremy Scott, Pucci, Diane von Furstenberg and Giambatista Valli, to name a few. That’s not to mention Haute Couture (of which she walked for Chanel and opened for Versace this year alone). For someone who quit modeling for Baby Guess when she was young, and only signed with IMG Models in 2011 after moving to New York for college, she’s been doing pretty well.
Gigi is part of a new generation of models who are more than just pretty girls you see on fashion ads or magazines. Along with her career comes her whole image -- her social media presence is a necessary one if she wants to continue successfully. And so far, she’s been doing it right, with 13.2 million Instagram followers and 1.52 million Twitter followers. Her social media outlets are used mainly to give her fans a glimpse of her day-to-day life, from watching "Grease Live" with Taylor Swift, celebrating her career milestones (it’s not every day that you walk down the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway, after all) or supporting her family. One of her most famous posts went viral during the last Paris Fashion Week, where people criticized Hadid’s figure and runway walk and she responded with an Instagram post where she defended her body and work, stated that the high-fashion world was ready for a change and was applauded for it. Most recently, her nude cover of Vogue Paris just proved Hadid’s capacity as a model -- and also showed the world that there is absolutely nothing to criticize about her appearance.
The model’s personal life is also constantly making headlines. When she first settled into fame, she was dating singer Cody Simpson, with whom she parted ways in about mid-2015. A few months later, her relationship with singer Joe Jonas began and they famously supported each other in their endeavors -- he accompanied her to Fashion Week, and she directed his band’s first music video “Cake by the Ocean.” Now, she’s in a relationship with former One Direction member Zayn Malik, and is also the star of the first music video of his solo career, “Pillowtalk.” Never one to shy away from criticism, once people criticised her for moving on from Joe to Zayn too quickly, Hadid responded saying that people didn’t understand her position and shouldn’t judge her without being in the same circumstances. Gigi’s friendships also throw her into the tabloids, be it her going out for dinner or shopping with Kendall (they’re known as KenGi), or famously being a part of Taylor Swift’s squad whose activities vary from baking cookies, having a celeb-filled 4th of July weekend, starring in a music video and strutting down the stage in a stadium filled with 70 thousand people during her BFF’s 1989 World Tour.
Gigi makes use of her name by bringing awareness to Lyme Disease, a disease that has affected her family and that few people know about. Most recently, she competed on Masterchef against model Devon Windsor and won $25 thousand which she donated to the Global Alliance for Lyme Disease.
If three years ago the question was who is Gigi Hadid, the question today is: What can’t Gigi Hadid do?
