Bullied For Their Beauty
What do Khoudia Diop, Nastya Zhidkova, Connie Chiu and Nikia Phoenix have in common? They’re all top models who've been bullied for their beauty.
Photo of Connie Chiu
Photo Credit: Amber Case
Khoudia Diop is a Senegalese 19-year-old dark-skinned model who was called names like “daughter of the night” so often that at one point she stopped attending school. Hong Kong's Connie Chiu may have been the only child in her family born with albinism, but she became an ambassador for teaching people to understand albinism when she launched her modeling career with fashion king John Paul Gaultier.
And Like Chu, Zhidkova is a young Russian model and singer-songwriter with albinism who is today credited with helping to transform standard ideas about modeling.
Phoenix too is setting new standards of beauty. As the cute freckle-faced African-American model for a host of major brands, Phoenix is lauded for her unique look but also understands not everyone is a fan - she too has faced her share of challenges because of her appearance. Phoenix wrote, "these freckles have been on my skin since I was four years old. They weren’t trendy when I was younger. No one was drawing on freckles or getting freckle tattoos. In fact, it was just the opposite. I was picked on a lot for my spots and it hurt.”
Photo of Nikia Phoenix
Photo Credit: HiStyley
These women all may have experienced difficulty in proving that beauty comes in all forms, but they continue to love themselves both on and off camera, and are proving that the old ideas about what is considered beautiful are changing. Watch the video to see how these stunning women are redefining what it means to be a top model.
Sources: Glamour, Allure, NollyGrio Media/Nollyvines