Ethiopian born Liya Kebede is a supermodel and maternal health advocate, whose endurance in the fashion industry is inimitable.

A lucky discovery by a film director at her high school and an introduction to a French modeling agent led to the Addis Ababa native’s whirlwind move to Paris and initiation into the modeling world. Despite walking for many fashion houses at the beginning of her career, Liya did not amass a great deal of attention until Tom Ford personally requested an exclusive contract for his Gucci fall/winter 2000 runway show. Soon after, Vogue Paris devoted their May 2002 issue, the first one dedicated to a black woman, to her. This prefaced a career that would push boundaries and champion diversity in the fashion industry.

Liya’s modeling career, spanning two decades thus far, is of the highest caliber. She fronted campaigns for notable brands like Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Moncler, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Calvin Klein and Nicolas Ghesquiere’s Balenciaga revival. She walked for Alexander Mcqueen, Celine, Dries Van Noten, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, and Marc Jacobs, to name a few. In 2003, Estee Lauder Cosmetics named Liya as their face, making her the first black woman to be an ambassador for the brand. Then, in 2011 Loreal named her ambassador, a role she continues to fill.

A sought-after cover girl, Liya’s covers include French, Italian, American, Korean and German Vogue, i-D, Harper's Bazaar, Porter magazine, Numero, Elle, Marie Claire, Manifesto and M le monde. Additionally, Liya’s passion for storytelling culminated in several notable film credits. Her starring role in Desert Flower, an adaptation of Waris Dirie’s autobiographical novel, resulted in a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. In 2017, she starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the campaign for Calvin Klein's iconic fragrance eternity.

Liya’s defining characteristic is her kind heart and steadfast devotion to philanthropy. One of her chief causes is maternal and fetal health–in 2005, she began her role as WHO’s goodwill ambassador of maternal, newborn and child health. She then established the Liya Kebede Foundation which aimed to expand community education in order to ensure better access to safe birthing conditions. Moreover, in 2007, Liya launched an artisan-driven clothing line under the name Lemlem, meaning "to bloom" in Amharic, to preserve traditional ethiopian weaving. The Lemlem foundation, the brand’s counterpart, seeks to create "a pathway out of poverty for women artisans in Africa through programs that promote better access to healthcare, job opportunities, and responsible production." She later worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a part of their living proof project, a storytelling initiative that aims to educate the masses about health and poverty.

Liya resides in New York with her two teenage children and is represented by dna Model Management.