The Glamourous Model Winnie Harlow

The vitiligo model, born as Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young and professionally known as Winne Harlow, is a Canadian public speaker and model. Her part as a contestant in the 21st America’s Next Top Model, a U.S television series, brought her fame in 2014. The skin condition vitiligo which is a long-term skin ailment characterized by patches of the skin losing its pigment is what makes her stand out from other female artists of the industry. Regardless of the condition, the beautiful woman feels comfortable in her skin and publicly talks about vitiligo.

Early Life

In the Greater Toronto area, on July 27, 1994, Winnie Harlow was born to Windsor Young and Lisa Brown. She has 2 sisters and is of Jamaican descent. When she turned 4, Harlow was diagnosed with vitiligo with her skin covered in white patches. Due to this she became victimized by school bullies and it got hard for her to attend school. Children used to mock her by calling her ‘Zebra and Cow’ which is why she had to switch school innumerate times and, subsequently, dropped out of high school. This compelled Harlow to commit suicide once but, over time, she grew confident about herself and was least bothered about the disparaging slurs and disgrace she received from people.

Career

Some of the credit to Winnie Harlow’s prominence goes to Tyra Banks, an American television personality and host of America’s Next Top Model, who found her on Instagram. Eventually, Harlow gained her position amongst the 14 finalists of the 21st cycle, in 2014, being the only Canadian ever cast on the show. She was disqualified in the second week of the finals but this didn’t halt her success and eagerness. Harlow participated in the ‘comeback series’, a separate competition that features photoshoots of ANTM’s eliminated contestants, to return to the competition. Fortunately, she received the highest average public vote score and returned to the competition but was, however, eliminated being placed sixth overall in episode 13.

The show had been triumphant for Winnie Harlow and she had gained substantial followers and fans on her social media accounts while becoming prominent in the American television industry. After being disqualified from the competition, Harlow ventured on to her modeling endeavor and inked a deal with Desigual, a Spanish clothing band, becoming its official brand representative. The same year, in London Fashion Week, she modeled for the 2015 spring/summer collection of a brand named Ashish. The following year, in 2015, she worked for Showstudio.com, a fashion website, and also modeled for magazines such as Dazed, i-D, Glamour, and Complex magazine. The same year, Harlow also worked for the spring/summer campaign of the Italian clothing brand Diesel and was featured in the Cosmopolitan August 2015 issue. The dazzling model has shot for Ebony magazine and has been featured on Vogue Italia’s website. In 2016, Harlow was chosen as one of BBC’s 100 Women and modeled at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2018. The stunning model has multiple nominations and awards to her name including Gala Spa Awards 2015, Teen Choice Awards, and Glamour Awards. Winnie Harlow has appeared in numerous television shows and music videos. The list includes Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Guts Over Fear, and Lemonade to name a few.

Apart from being a glamorous model, Winnie Harlow is an active public speaker for the skin ailment she suffers from. Before she commenced her modeling career, Harlow posted a YouTube video regarding how she lives her life entitled “Vitiligo: A Skin Condition, not a Life Changer.” Later on, in 2014, she spoke about her experience with it in a TEDx presentation, and the next year, she received the ‘Role Model’ award at the 2015 Portuguese GQ Men of the Year event.

Personal Life

Weighing 58 kgs, the dazzling 5 ft 9 inches tall model calls herself a ‘bookworm’ and enjoys riding rollercoasters. She loves watching basketball and is currently dating the NBA star, Kyle Kuzma. She is rumored to have been in a relationship with the rap artist Wiz Khalifa and Lewis Hamilton, a Formula One driver, in the past. Winnie Harlow’s net worth is $3 million which is on the rise and has been ranked #10 in the 10 Richest Model of 2020 list.