Winnie Harlow – Force for Good

Once bullied because of her vitiligo, model Winnie Harlow now inspires women around the globe to embrace their skin. The 28-year-old reveals her confidence secrets, plus what drives her to continually seek new challenges.

- By Jeannine Amber. Photograohed by Daniella Midenge

When a celebrity is approached in public, it's usually by a fan with a selfie request. When Winnie Harlow gets stopped, often it's by someone eager to thank her. She's the reason they feel more confident, they tell her. She's helped them feel more beautiful, less insecure.

As the first world-famous model with vitiligo, an autoimmune condition that causes patches of depigmented skin, Winnie is not only a frontline warrior in the fight for beauty inclusion but also a hero for scores of women and girls who've ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin.

Winnie, who has more than 10 million followers on Instagram, has long maintained that she has no desire to be a role model (she prefers inspiration). Still, the impact of her image gracing magazine covers and sky-high billboards, along with her work as the face of countless campaigns, including ones for Fendi, Puma, and M.A.C, is undeniable. A fan once shared with Winnie the story of their mother, who had spent her life covering up her arms, embarrassed by her vitiligo. They said, 'My whole life, my mother never felt beautiful, and then I showed her a picture of you and now she wears short sleeves, Winnie says. It's beautiful that I can help inspire confidence in people, no matter what walk of life they are from.