Vitiligo Made Me Famous, but It's Not Who I Am

Model-turned-beauty-founder Winnie Harlow shares the story-her story-that no one else wants to.

- Winnie Harlow

I am a Jamaican Canadian who never took no for an answer. I'm a woman. I'm a Black woman. I'm my mother's child. I love my family, chosen and given. I never pass up an opportunity for a prank. I am all these things, and so much more, before what is happening with my skin.

I started developing vitiligo-an autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system attacks the melanin-producing cells in skin and hair, causing depigmented patches when I was 4. (The prevalence of vitiligo in the global population varies but is about 1 percent in the U.S.) It felt incredibly isolating as a child. I vividly recall being in third grade and trying to befriend two girls who would run away from me because their mothers didn't want them to "catch" what I had, as if I were contagious.

Thankfully, though, I grew up with a family who made me feel loved and worthy. They poured their energy into me endlessly, and I credit them with the confidence that I have today. If you know anything about Jamaican women, you know that we have no shortage of confidence. And it's that self-esteem-not the promise of fame-that propelled me to achieve many firsts.