Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Wednesday, June 22, 2011
New York (Tadias) – The Ethiopian-born supermodel, actress and maternal health advocate, Liya Kebede, has been named the “new face” of L’Oréal – joining Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Julianna Margulies and Freida Pinto- in her new role as the global beauty brand’s spokeswoman.
“It is important for me that I represent a brand that reflects my personality,” the 33-year-old said in a statement. “I’m pleased to play a part in sharing the uniqueness, the charisma, and the incredible stories of women of all origins and from all regions of the world.”
Liya Kebede, who is a mother of two children, was first spotted by a modeling agent while attending high-school at Lycee Gebre Mariam in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has since become one of the best-known and successful models in the world. She was the first black face of Estée Lauder.
In 2005 she was appointed as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador, and in recent years, she has been focused on that role advocating on behalf of maternal, newborn and child health issues. The same year she established the The Liya Kebede Foundation, an organization designed to provide women access to life-saving care in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations, corporations and affected communities.
In 2007, she launched her green clothing line Lemlem (Amharic for “flourish” or “to bloom”), which features handcrafted collection of women’s and children’s clothing that is made by traditional Ethiopian weavers from her homeland. Lemlem is carried by Barney’s, J.Crew, Net-a-Porter.com and numerous boutique shops.
Liya has also made a successful transition to the big screen starring in the film-adaption of the autobiography Desert Flower, the true story of fellow model Waris Dirie, who escaped a childhood nightmare in Somalia and became a global supermodel, as well as acting in movies such as The Good Shepherd and Lord of War.
She was named one of Times Magazine’s 100 influential people in 2010.
We congratulate Liya on her accomplishments.
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Learn more about Liya Kebede at www.liyakebede.com.