'Kids made fun but look at me now'

Cruelly bullied at school for her skin condition vitiligo, today Jasroop Singh is making it big as a successful model

- LAUREN MORRIS

Jasroop Singh once hated the way she looks, but the 21-year-old is now making a name for herself in the modelling world. The star of Channel 4’s new docuseries New Model Agency has featured in Vogue, modelled for brands including Burberry, and now considers her skin condition vitiligo to be a superpower.

However, it has been a long and painful journey to self-acceptance for Jas, who reveals she was cruelly bullied at school and forced to drink cow’s urine in a bid to cure her condition, which causes white patches to develop on the face and body.

“There were times where I just thought, ‘What even is the point any more?’” Jas tells new. “I hated the way I looked. I’d always wish I wasn’t even here.”

Jas is now signed to Zebedee Talent – the inclusive model agency that is the subject of Channel 4’s documentary. The three-part series follows the agency’s diverse cast of models as they head out to castings and take the fashion world by storm.

But Jas’ confidence wasn’t always at the impressive level it is now. Raised in Essex by her English mum and Indian dad, Jas began to develop vitiligo at the age of four. “It started on my skin with a small patch,” she explains.

While kids didn’t pay much attention to it in primary school, her parents began looking into ways to cure the condition.

“I was taking medication from a young age, so you can imagine how much of an effect that had on my mental health,” she recalls.

“My parents – they knew no better about that other than to cure it. And with it being such a taboo in South Asian culture, I’d be going to India a lot, nearly every year.