Black History Month: Winnie Harlow and her impact on modeling

Hannah Simon, Reporter

We have all heard of the iconic television show “Americas Next Top Model”, ran by model and influencer Tyra Banks. In 2014 aspiring model and women’s activist Chantelle Brown-Young, commonly known as Winnie Harlow, had her rise to fame after appearing on the show.

Winnie stands out from other models due to her rare skin disease called Vitiligo, which causes you to lose patches of pigmentation of the skin or hair, causing white discoloration. Winnie changed the standard of beauty, aside from being a model.

However, her rise to fame did not come easy. Harlow was diagnosed with her skin disease when she was four years old. Her childhood was comprised of awful name calling and bullying, due to her physical appearance, which eventually lead her to drop out of high school.

Despite Harlow’s traumatic childhood, she has learned to love her disease and herself through daily positive affirmations and self-help books. Today, Harlow keeps her title as one of the worlds’ most recognized models with a net worth of $3 million.

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