Isabella Khairiah Hadid, widely known as Bella Hadid, is an American supermodel as well as a “Gen Z icon,” some would say. Hadid was born on October 9th of 1996 in Washington D.C. and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is currently 26 years old and resides in New York. She is the middle child of two siblings, including Gigi Hadid and younger brother Anwar. Their mother, Yolanda Hadid, was a former model which most likely influenced the Hadid sisters and Anwar to follow in her modeling footsteps. 

As a teenager, Hadid wanted to be a professional equestrian and due to her family’s wealth; she grew up riding horses which caused her to grow a love for the activity. Despite her interest and passion for horseback riding, Hadid ultimately decided to follow her successful sister and become a model as well. At first, she wasn’t as recognized as Gigi, but she was eventually able to book commercial projects by the time she was sixteen years old. However, her modeling career took off after she debuted at Fashion Week in 2014, walking for Desigual. This was a pivotal moment in Bella’s career and caused it to take off and venture into more well-known and expensive designers. In just under a year, the aspiring model was walking runways for respected designers including Tommy Hilfiger, Jeremy Scott, and Marc Jacobs. With her career becoming more and more successful, Bella found herself dating The Weeknd, a popular singer, and songwriter. The relationship lasted from 2015 to 2016 and the young model was even featured in The Weeknd’s music video “In the Night”. When they broke up after a year and a half, Hadid still found herself in The Weeknd’s company. While he performed at The Victoria’s Secret fashion show, Bella had to walk right by him in a classy catwalk. In March 2016, Bella was awarded the Model of the Year at the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards. 

With her career becoming more and more successful by the day, Bella has still managed to keep in close contact with her friends, including Kendall Jenner who is also a model and socialite. The two best friends have been close since high school and have stayed besties even as successful models. 

Even as a top supermodel, Bella still takes on an activist role as well. According to the website, The Things, Hadid has a role even outside of the fashion industry, “When President Trump banned the citizens of various Muslim countries from coming into the United States… Bella couldn’t support this new immigration policy; so she, along with Gigi, marched in the “No Ban, No Wall” march in 2017.”Despite Hadid’s raging success and busy work schedule, the model still finds a way to have a voice and isn’t afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right. 

Overall, Bella Hadid has deemed herself to be an influence in the fashion industry as well as taking on an activist role simultaneously. As Bella continues to flourish and take flight as a supermodel, Gen Z will continue to be inspired by her confidence and ability to speak her voice on heavy topics.