Interview with Halima Aden
Thursday / October 1, 2026
About Halima Aden
Somali-American model born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, later signed to IMG Models and a UNICEF ambassador.
Source: BBC HARDtalk on YouTube
These answers are taken from Halima Aden, the hijab-wearing model changing fashion - BBC HARDtalk on BBC HARDtalk's YouTube channel. You! Backstage did not conduct this interview.
What drew you to a career as a model?
It's a great platform. It was a platform for a scholarship: even if you don't win the competition, if you make it to the semifinalists you can walk away with $10,000, $15,000 worth of scholarship.
I wear the hijab. I've been wearing it for a very long time; it's part of who I am. So when it was time to compete in the pageant, I didn't want to strip myself of my identity only to fit in. It was important that I remain true to myself, and I'm so grateful that the organization allowed me to still participate. I walked away with such an incredible experience, and I still got to remain myself. I think it's amazing if you can walk into whatever it is and be yourself.
How did your career as a model unfold?
My life went from zero to 100, 100 miles per hour, right after the pageant. It completely changed my life overnight. My first trip to New York: I'd never even traveled for vacation. All these things happening. Rihanna's team reached out, and the first campaign I ever shot was with her, for Fenty Beauty. Walking for Yeezy. Night and day to St. Cloud, which is more of a college town, very laid-back, very relaxed.
Even with modeling, my mom had a hard time, because she doesn't come from this culture. When I said I want to enter modeling, she thought, you could have been a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor. You almost have to throw it back at her: you did a great job as a parent, because you've instilled in me the confidence to pursue my passion, and I'm still not forgetting my roots.
I'm not moving to New York, I'm not moving to Milan, I'm not moving to a fashion capital. I'm going to stay at home, I'm going to stay in Minnesota, and even today I'm still in Minnesota.
What advice do you have for new models?
When I was younger I never used to smile with my full lips, because I got made fun of for having fuller lips. So it's funny how years later there are so many challenges trying to achieve fuller lips. When I was younger that wasn't the standard of beauty; it's now becoming a trend. So you almost have to look at these things and call it out for what it is: it's man-made. The standard of beauty should be yours to define for yourself, and you should never compare yourself to anybody.
I think we have the responsibility to inform the public that these magazine covers you're seeing took us 14 hours to shoot. A lot goes into the behind the scenes. You have so many people running around doing their job, working hard, 14-hour days sometimes, and it's not as simple as boom, we got the shot, everybody can go home.
Life is so short. Just focus on what brings you joy and go after those little things.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as a model?
I'm a UNICEF ambassador. I do so much with this platform, and it's changing how young women see themselves. I didn't grow up with representation. I'm using my platform to shine light on the beauty of modesty, my work with UNICEF, where I came from, the refugee crisis: all these things that have nothing to do with fashion and clothes and the runway. I wouldn't mind if my little sister followed me on Instagram, because I'm proud of the content I've been putting out there.
I went back to the camp at 21. It was my first time coming home. I was seven years old the last time I was there. To come back as an adult, it's almost doubled in size since my family left, and that broke my heart. I wish I had somebody who'd walked in my shoes who could come back to the camp, look me in the face and say, this is what hope is, it's okay to dream, you deserve to dream big and prosper outside of these four walls.
How do you keep communication clear with photographers, designers and your agency?
I went into that meeting with my agency willing to walk away if it meant conforming, if it meant changing my values, changing who I was. I made it very clear, and they accepted me just as I was. Modeling without the hijab was never even a question. But we had a meeting to talk about wardrobe: how is this going to work? I'm the first hijab-wearing model; it's never happened in the industry. It's not as simple as just put her on the runway. What happens backstage? I need to have a private dressing space to change.
I always travel with a female companion, whether that be my manager, my publicist or my assistant, since the beginning. The pageant organizers ended up managing me, so it's been a smooth relationship from day one. It's two women that have traveled the world with me. I've never gone on a trip or a shoot without them by my side. They're the ones who change me backstage. That was intentional, because it's a lonely world, and it's also a protection for me.
Who is your favorite model, and why?
I'm so proud that I'm joining the industry today, because I'm seeing models like Maye Musk, who's 72 years old, killing it on the runway and on the magazine covers. It shows beauty doesn't go away after a certain age. For men, you're lucky: salt and pepper is attractive, you age like fine wine. For women that isn't the same. So I'm glad we have women like Maye and all these incredible older women who are the face of fashion. Winnie Harlow, Ashley Graham with body positivity: so many faces out there that are sparking the conversation.
Describe your style.
Modesty is not for one culture. It's not for one group of women. Modesty is the oldest thought; it's a fashion staple. It's been around since the beginning of time, and it's going to be around for another hundred years. It's just another option for people to participate in. And I'm not saying it needs to be a hijab or a turban, it needs to look like me, for it to be considered modesty. Like beauty, I think you define it for yourself.
I don't even want to be seen as a supermodel. I just want to be seen as a girl who is not afraid to be the first, who is confident, who does not forget her roots.
Tell me something I may not know from reading your credits.
Kakuma, surprisingly, was a great childhood. Not only was it the largest refugee camp in the world, it was still a beautiful childhood, despite having obstacles like malaria, not knowing where your food is going to come from. It's ironic, because I'm in fashion and constantly surrounded with clothes, and in my childhood we were scrapping to find shoes. One shirt would last us for months. It's night and day. But the community made it vibrant. It's 66 percent women and children, so a very nurturing, protective environment, and they made up for it in love and support.
I was a vibrant kid. I had a lot of friends in the camp, and I spoke fluent Somali and Swahili. To leave that world behind and come to Missouri, to the most impoverished community in St. Louis, was a very tough first year.
Halima Aden's Full Biography
Halima Aden is a famous Somali-American fashion model. Aden was born in September 1997, at a refugee camp in Kenya, and at the age of six moved to the United States, settling in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to IMG Models.