Alek Wek is far from the average model. Not only is she a striking African woman, which makes her unique enough in high fashion, but she also has a harrowing backstory. Forced by violence to flee her native Sudan at the age of 14, Wek sought refuge in England where she was ‘discovered’ by a modeling agent while shopping in a market.
Since then, she’s become one of the world’s most successful, recognized and sought after models. Not only is she breaking traditional stereotypes of euro-centric beauty in the notoriously lilywhite world of fashion, but she makes it a point to give back through humanitarian work and advocacy through the United Nations Refugee Acency, UNHCR.
Here, Alek Wek describes some of her experiences to Bob Edwards: