Top 10 Models Who Have Changed How People Perceive Beauty

What is beauty? Many times in this day and age young people look in the mirror and see flaws that many people do not see.  What they don’t realize is that those people they are comparing themselves to also have similar insecurities, because of what media has told us is beautiful.

Below are pictures of 10 models who hope to change how the world sees beauty….

1. Alek wek

Alek Wek is a South Sudanese British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan,  but fled to Britain in 1991 to escape the civil war Sudan. Alek has stated that physically, she resembles her father, who was 6’5″ and also had unusually long limbs. Wek suffered from the skin condition psoriasis  from infancy until age 14.

2. Robyn Lawley

The 24-year-old Sydney-based model didn’t just make history with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Robyn went to see a mainstream agency when she was 15 and although they were ready to sign her, she didn’t feel ready. After taking a year off she returned and started doing straight size modeling for a year. Finding it to be not worth the effort of maintaining the size 8 that was required, she signed with Bella model management, a “plus size” modeling agency in Australia, when she was 18.

3. Winnie Harlow

Chantelle Brown-Young or Winnie Harlow is a 21 year old model with viltiligo, which is a chronic skin desease that causes loss of skin color in blotches .  Harlow had been a victim of verbal abuse by other children and was notably called as a “cow, zebra and all manner of other disparaging slurs” throughout her childhood. The verbal harassment had culminated to dropping out of high school and suicidal thoughts.

4. Shaun Ross

Shaun Ross (24) is an American professional fashion model, actor and dancer of  African descent, best known for being the first male albino model. when he was growing up, Ross dealt with much discrimination for being albino. He was bullied frequently by his peers, called names such as “Powder” , “Wite-Out” , and “Casper” . After training at the Alvin Ailey  School for five years, Ross was discovered on YoutTube and crossed over to the fashion industry in 2008 at 16 years old.

5. Jessica Hart

Jessica Hart is an Australian model who appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was born in Sydney, Australia. She was discovered in Melbourne and has appeared on the cover of Australian Vogue. Hart has revealed to Fox News that she has withstood pressure over the years to have the gap between her front teeth fixed. The gap has become something of Hart’s trademark, however she said over the years some photographers have tried to fix the flaw in post-production.

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