Bella Hadid on Her Fame: “I Just Want to Be Myself”

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Bella Hadid is laughing—something the model, who’s usually so serious in photos, actually does a lot. “Don’t watch,” the 19-year-old shouts to the ­Glamour crew packing up the remains of her photo shoot. “It’ll be better for everyone!” Then, as ­Hadid’s favorite song, “Stray Cat Strut,” begins, she lets loose—lip-synching the lyrics “Wild stray cat, you’re a real gone guy.” In this moment Hadid is not a member of the Balmain army or of Givenchy’s gang. She’s just a “punk kid” fake-singing a 1980s rock song. She’s herself.

It’s the perfect way to capture the supermodel revolution that’s now under way: Models, once pretty girls who silently walked the runway, are now bona fide personalities driving the cultural zeitgeist forward, one social media post at a time. Hadid, a prime example, is making a name for herself in and out of the fashion industry. She’s walking runways (Chanel, Fendi), landing campaigns (Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs), and inking major ambassador deals (Dior Beauty). But she’s also making headlines at Cannes for her own personal style, showing up on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, starring in a music video with ­Grammy-winning boyfriend the Weeknd, and racking up 5.3 million Instagram followers who come for #TBT photos of Hadid with model sister Gigi, among other things.

Hadid has done all of it while battling chronic Lyme disease, a debilitating illness her mom, Yolanda Foster, and brother, Anwar, also have. But Hadid wants to be defined by a career she can control, not by an illness she can’t. At a lobster joint nearby, we discussed her epic ascent.

Read Abby Haglage’s interview with Hadid below. For more, pick up the September issue of Glamour on newsstands, subscribe now, or download the digital edition.

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GLAMOUR: You’ve gone from college student to “model of the moment” in under two years. What has that transition been like?

Bella Hadid: I don’t walk down the street like, “I’m famous.” It’s still weird to me when people ask for pictures. My close friends from high school keep me grounded—they don’t care about what I do. I’m still the same person I was, and I try hard not to change.

GLAMOUR: What made you decide to leave school?

BH: Gigi [who’s a year older] had already started modeling when I moved to New York to study photography. I met with [her agency] IMG. I started modeling and was working almost every day, learning more with photographers on set than I was in school. Even now I’m going to Europe by myself. I’ve got a lot of responsibility.

GLAMOUR: Does it ever get lonely traveling by yourself?

BH: It does. Even though you’re in Paris and London, at the end of the day, you come home and you’re by yourself. Sometimes I break down and cry. But once I am done with a full month in Europe, I step back and think, I’m so lucky.

GLAMOUR: You mentioned Gigi. The story about how you dyed your hair brown to distinguish yourself from her is ubiquitous. Do you feel like blond is off-limits for you now?

BH: Well, I didn’t really dye my hair to separate myself from Gigi. I started dyeing my hair when I was 14. I dyed it black and blue, I wore eyeliner—I was a punk kid. I might want to go blond eventually!

GLAMOUR: Some people have called you the Mary-Kate to her Ashley. Do you guys feel as close as twins?

BH: I don’t know about twins, but we’re definitely a lot more similar than people think. We have the same voice, the same mannerisms. Sometimes we’ll finish each other’s sentences, or we’ll be the only people laughing. We’ve always been close. As kids, especially on weekends, our mom would drive us to the barn at 6:30 A.M., and we would spend the day together riding our horses, and washing and cleaning them.

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GLAMOUR: How did you react when you heard that Stephanie Seymour had said Gigi and Kendall Jenner should be called “bitches of the moment” rather than “supermodels”?

BH: It’s crazy. I’ve worked with Stephanie before and loved her; she was sweet to me. I don’t know if she meant it in that mean way. But even so, it’s still hurtful. My sister and Kendall work their asses off. We’re all working hard. You just have to let your success speak for itself…because at the end of the day, we’re making our money.

GLAMOUR: The best revenge is your paper, right?

BH: Yeah. [Laughs.] I don’t want anybody to fail. Why would you wish that upon somebody? If you’re a powerful woman and you’re confident in yourself, you want other people to succeed.

GLAMOUR: What are you thinking about when you’re modeling?

BH: You have to have emotion in your eyes; you don’t want to look dead. [Laughs.] I listen to music. I think about my boyfriend.

GLAMOUR: That would be Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd. You made your red-carpet debut together at the Grammys. Why then?

BH: It was a big night for him. He has worked so hard, and he did so well that night. As a girlfriend I wanted to be there to support him. Seeing him so happy when he won a Grammy made me so happy.

GLAMOUR: So here’s the thing: Are you dating Abel or the Weeknd?

BH: I’m dating Abel. I don’t see him as the Weeknd. I’m proud of the Weeknd and the music he makes, but I really love Abel.

GLAMOUR: Your mom revealed last October that you suffer from Lyme. Were you worried about her making that public?

BH: Definitely. People are really mean about it. They always say that I don’t have what I have—but it’s taken a toll on my life since I was 15. I’ll occasionally get comments now like, “How do you have this disease if you’re working every day?” But I didn’t want it to hold me back anymore. I’m still 19; I still have a life and things to do.

GLAMOUR: What does having Lyme actually feel like?

BH: It starts with brain fog; for a while I couldn’t put sentences together. I’m really tired a lot. A few weeks ago I had a big campaign shoot that I had to reschedule. It’s hard, but I push through, because at the end of the day, if you’re not working, somebody else is.

GLAMOUR: Where did you get your work ethic?

BH: My parents; they’ve always been hard workers. I started working when I was about 14 at a juice place, making juices, acai bowls. I cashiered. I cleaned dishes—and like 100 blenders—for hours.

GLAMOUR: Your mom has been your guiding force in many ways.

BH: My mom’s always who I go to when I’m feeling really sad…on the days when I’ll read 10 good comments and one awful comment—and still get down on myself about the one [negative].

GLAMOUR: Do we, as women, do that more often than men?

BH: Humans are humans. If somebody’s mean to you, it’s not gonna feel good—no matter if you’re a man or a woman. I’m really proud to be a woman. I love that women can be feminine but also powerful. You know, free the nipple!

GLAMOUR: [Laughs.] Are you a fan of the Free the Nipple movement?

BH: I mean, my mom is European. My whole family is European. We were always very comfortable with our bodies. It’s fine if you don’t want to show your body like that. But if a woman wants to show her body, I’m all for it. Everybody loves a little nip.

GLAMOUR: Would you ever free the nipple, or would Mom be mad?

BH: I think Instagram might be madder than my mom. [Laughs.] But you know, one day. One of these days—I’ll tag you.

GLAMOUR: What else does the future hold for you?

BH: I want to keep modeling. I want to give back to the world. In five years I would love to be just really happy.

Abby Haglage is a senior writer at The Daily Beast.

 

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