Who

A native of Ethiopia, Liya Kebede is a supermodel and the face of Estée Lauder cosmetics.

Backstory

Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kebede's modeling career began when she was spotted by a film director at age 16 while attending the Lycée Français in the Ethiopian capital. She left home for Paris and then settled in New York, and in 2000, at the age of 22, she signed an exclusive contract with Gucci after designer Tom Ford saw her in a show in Milan. In 2003, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer selected her as the first woman of color to serve as a spokesmodel for Estée Lauder, a post Kebede has held for four years.

Of note

Over the past few years, Kebede has landed coveted campaigns for H&M, Gap, Ann Taylor, and Givenchy and has appeared on the covers of a slew of magazines including American, French, Italian, Spanish, Korean and Japanese Vogue. (Just don't expect Anna to put her on the cover of the American edition again anytime soon; her appearance stateside in May 2005 was one of the worst selling issues in years.) Like any model looking for a second act, she's also moved into acting, scoring roles in 2005's Lord of War and 2006's The Good Shepherd. The gigs helped her land at No. 11 on Forbes' list of top earning models—she brought in $2.5 million in 2006.

Pet cause

She runs the Liya Kebede Foundation, which raises money for Ethiopian hospitals and healthcare workers. She also serves as a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization.

Personal

Kebede married Ethiopian hedge fund manager Kassy Kebede, who is 20 years her senior, in 2000. The couple has two children, Suhul and Raee. They live in a three-bedroom apartment in Carnegie Hill.

No joke

In an interesting bit of foreshadowing, she had a Naomi Campbell poster hanging on the wall in her childhood bedroom.