Gigi Hadid Promotes Body Positivity

Gigi Hadid is everyone's favorite model-of-the-moment. She started on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as Yolanda Foster's daughter, but now she's a supermodel who is rapidly taking over the fashion scene. Even better than her talent as a model is her ability to speak intelligently on issues of health and body positivity. For example, Gigi Hadid values fitness over being ultra-skinny.

Hadid got into modeling as a child, appearing in Guess Kids ads, eventually signing with IMG. And while she's willing to endure the fame and photo shoots that come with modeling life, the former reality TV star told E!, "When I walked into IMG, my one thing was like, 'I'll be fit.' I've always been an athlete my whole life, but there's one thing I will not do [even] if it means turning away a dream of mine, and that is to be too thin. I want to work with people that want to work with me and how my body is." Pretty wise for a 17-year-old who had just signed with a major agency!

And how refreshing. Just a week ago, the first Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards Show honored Hadid as 2015's Model of the Year. And I can't help but think comments like this and her overall beautiful and sweet demeanor are the reason she received the first-time award.

More and more we are seeing models make bold statements in support of body positivity. With the #effyourbeautystandard hashtag trend and the newest line at Target, it's great to see fashion blurring lines that should not have been necessary in the first place.

Although Hadid had been working really hard to be in the last Victoria Secret fashion show, it ultimately did not happen for the now 19-year-old. Hadid's reaction was genuinely OK about the situation — I like to think because she took her own advice. And her dreams did come true just a few weeks later. Staying true to oneself sure does pay off!

Images: Getty(2)