Liya Kebede
1 March 1978
Model
2000–present
2
1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Brown
Brown
- DNA Model Management (New York)
- IMG Models (London, Sydney, Los Angeles)
- VIVA Model Management (Paris, Barcelona)
- d'management group (Milan)
- Iconic Management (Hamburg) [1]
Early life and education[edit]
Kebede was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[5] She is ethnic Amhara.[6] She is the only daughter in the family, having four brothers. A film director spotted her while she was attending Lycée Guebre-Mariam, the school in which she learned fluent French, and introduced her to a French modeling agent. After completing her studies, she moved to France to pursue work through a Parisian agency. Kebede later relocated to the US, initially to Chicago then New York City.[7]
Advocacy[edit]
In 2005, Kebede was appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.[4][21] She then founded the Liya Kebede Foundation, whose mission is to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality in Ethiopia and around the world. The organization funds advocacy and awareness-raising projects as well as providing direct support for low-cost technologies, community-based education, and training and medical programs.[22] In one health center that the foundation works with, hospital deliveries rose by over 50% in 12 months.[23]
Kebede has traveled to Ethiopia to support maternal health projects on multiple occasions. In 2009, she worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Living Proof Project.[24] Kebede served as a High-Level adviser for the Center for Global Development's 2009 report "Start with a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health".[25]
Kebede writes for The Huffington Post about maternal and child health,[26] and has been featured in Vogue and on The Daily Beast.[27] She is also part of the Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, an organization of African leaders led by former President of Botswana Festus Mogae.[28]
Personal life[edit]
In 2000, Kebede married Ethiopian hedge fund manager Kassy Kebede.[5] They have two children together: son Suhul (September 2000) and daughter Raee (August 2005).[29] As of 2007, the family resided in New York City.