Diandra Forrest

Model and actress Diandra Forrest is 27 years old was born in the Bronx in NYC she has a unique look that is albinism. It is a condition that only affects every 1 in 17,000 people and causes a loss of pigment in hair, skin and sometimes the eyes. More models in the fashion industry are popping up with this look now, since it is becoming more accepted. They are great role models for younger people who suffer from the condition.

Diandra Forrest is African American and was the first female model with albinism to be signed to a big label to start her career. Her look is unique and has caught the attention of a lot of designers and magazines in the industry. She grew up with 4 brothers and sisters and realised she was an albino at the age of 9, only her brother and herself inherited it. Many of her friends asked if she was adopted because she had a different look from others in her family, as well as this there would be adults who laughed at her as a child and she struggled to understand why. When she was a child she was moved to a school for children with special education to try and stop the bullying she was experiencing. She believes this was all due to a lack of understanding on their behalf and believes that is also how things are now, people don’t understand albinism fully so don’t know how to react to it. Finding confidence in herself really helped her get into the industry but she still hopes for change in the future and that people won’t have to go through what she went through. She wants to work with children and parents of those who have albinism to support them and help them to understand the condition.

She has done some great work in the fashion industry from magazine covers to music videos. Discovered when she was out shopping, she soon after joined the agency Elite Models NY. Now more deep into her career she has worked with models such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and MAC cosmetics. She has featured in a couple of music videos including Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts” video and Kanye West’s music video for his song “Power”. These artists are massively known around the world so it created a lot of attention for Diandra. In 2016 Diandra walked the New York Fashion Week runway holding her seven week old child. On lookers had different opinions on this as some thought it was really nice that she got the opportunity to do that but some believed she was actually breast feeding whilst walking – which wasn’t true – and frowned upon this for putting her baby into an environment like that.

Since she is so interested in supporting other with albinism, especially younger people with the condition. She worked with an organisation called Tanzania called Assisting Children in Need, they are there to fight discrimination against the Tanzanian albino community. She is another model who would like to known for being a model and not be defined by something that makes her different from others.