Alek: The Extraordinary Life of a Sudanese Refugee
2007
Alek
2007
Alek: My Life from Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel
(Alek Wek has been the face of ad campaigns for companies ...)
Alek Wek has been the face of ad campaigns for companies ranging from Coach to Michael Kors to Nars and has worked the runways on behalf of designers such as Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior. Yet her defining moments extend beyond the runways of New York, Milan, Paris, and London. Born to a middle-class family in the Sudan, Wek found her life suddenly inverted when civil war broke out among outlaw militias, the Muslim-dominated government, and southern rebels.
Alek Wek is a South Sudanese British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but fled to Britain in 1991 to escape the civil war in Sudan. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York
Background
Wek was born on the 16th of April 1977 in Wau in Sudan (now South Sudan). She was born to Akuol, a housewife, and Athian, an education official and was the seventh of nine children in her family. Her family grew up in extreme poverty, but Wek remembers being happy and peaceful.
She suffered from a skin condition known as psoriasis from birth until the age of 14. It cleared up because of the climate change once she moved to London with her family.
In 1985, a civil war broke out in Sudan, which caused the Wek family to flee their now dangerous home. Her father eventually died on the journey after an infection broke out in his hip due to a past surgery.
Education
After moving to England, Wek learnt English quickly, and went on to study fashion technology and business at the prestigious London College of Fashion.
In 1996, she was signed to Ford Models, a very prestigious agency based out of New York City. Within a year of arriving in New York, she was invited to walk in Ralph Lauren’s runway show, a coveted place usually given to famous models not newbies to the business like Wek.
In 1997, she was featured on the cover of “Elle” magazine, the first African woman to have this distinction.
In 1999, she was photographed for a calendar in which the artist Joanne Gair painted her body in bright, beautiful colors.
In 2002, she made her acting debut playing a princess of Sudan in the film ‘The Four Feathers’ and starred in a campaign for the Gap.
She launched ‘wek1993’ in 2005. It is a line of handbags that are for sale in Selfridges department stores. ‘wek1993’ is dedicated to her father, named after his birth year and designed to look like the briefcases he used to carry.
In 2007, she released her book entitled ‘Alek’. In this autobiography, she tells about her history as a refugee and her struggle to be treated fairly in the industry. She admits that some of her modeling gigs have has racist undertones.
She appeared on the cover of ‘Ebony’ magazine with fellow models Tyra Banks and Kimora Lee. The September 2007 cover of the magazine featured the photo-shoot.
In 2011, she served as a guest judge on the acclaimed reality show, ‘America’s Next Top Model’, alongside Tyra Banks.
In 2014, she signed with ‘Marks & Spencer’ for a campaign, a significant milestone for her professionally as well as personally as she used to shop there as a teenager.
(Alek nasceu em Wau, no sul do Sudao. Setima filha de uma ...)
2010
Alek: The Extraordinary Life of a Sudanese Refugee
2007
Alek
2007
Politics
In terms of her political views, her works speak volume of her. Since 2002, Wek has been an advisor to the U.S. Committee for Refugees Advisory Council, which helps to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide.
She is a missionary for World Vision, an organisation which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, and devotes time to UNICEF.
In 2007, she released an autobiography, entitled Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel, documenting her journey from a childhood of poverty in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.
In 2011, she appeared as a guest judge in the sixteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model.
In July 2012, she returned to South Sudan with the UN Refugee Agency to highlight the stories of refugees returning from the north and the massive efforts needed to build and stabilise the country.
In 2012 Alek teamed up with Amarula as the face of their campaign African Originals.
Views
This is what she has to say about her views and world outlook; "In my country, families are raised as though they are one. Although I am from the Dinka tribe, my parents didn't raise us as the Dinka tribe. They raised us as the Wek family, in the way they believed their children should grow up. So when you leave, the first thing you think is the ones you left behind. It's natural to help them in any way you can. I found a way to support myself rather than asking my Mum to give me money. I would work before school and send money back to pay for their rent and food."
She said again, "Beauty is deeper than just what you look at in a picture. You could fancy what you like, but as a woman my mother always raised us to believe in ourselves. I'm very grateful for the fact that my mother brought me up that way."
Quotations:
"I have no problem with whatever the next big look is. Just don't try and tell me that only one look is beautiful."
" I learnt just how little it takes to survive, which is why I don’t waste things – food, money, friendships or opportunities."
" I believe that true beauty comes from inside you and that always shows through. I have no problem with whatever the next look is, whether it's big blonde hair and blue eyes or green hair and dark eyes. That's fine so long as there isn't just one ideal image."
" When it’s all said and done I would like to look back and think that I help to make modelling a possibility for a greater number of people. I don’t do things that I will regret in the future. I tend to err on the side of caution. Not to mention the fact that the present world I reside in would not have been possible without my past. I am most proud of being able to represent my family and community with honour and dignity."
"My boyfriend isn't a rock star. His values are rock solid. We met at a dinner and he made me laugh."
"Pressure only makes you sick. You won't get anything positive out of it."
" I wore hot pants and cowboy boots and I thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?"
" Not everyone is selfish in fashion. There are people who go to bed feeling good about themselves and then spread the love."
Membership
As a member of the US Committee For Refugees' Advisory Council, she campaigns to raise the profile of the humanitarian disaster in the Sudan.
US Committee For Refugees' Advisory Council
,
United States
Personality
Alek Wek is one of fashion’s most known faces and one of the world’s most loved supermodels. Her vibrant personality, beautiful spirit and girlish good looks have captivated the world for years and are all echoed in the sophisticated looks she chooses on both the red carpet and off.
Physical Characteristics:
She has a Height of 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), her Hair color is Dark Brown, and eye color is brown
Connections
Wek has been in a relationship with Riccardo Sala, an Italian real estate developer, since 2003. She is aunt to the runway model Ataui Deng. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York
In 1997, she was named ‘Model of the Year’ by both ‘MTV’ and ‘i-D Magazine’. She became the first African to appear on the cover of ‘Elle’ magazine in the same year.
Channel 5 ranked her as #14 on their cumulative list of ‘World’s Greatest Supermodels’.
In 1999, she was named one of ‘People’ magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People’.
In 1997, she was named ‘Model of the Year’ by both ‘MTV’ and ‘i-D Magazine’. She became the first African to appear on the cover of ‘Elle’ magazine in the same year.
Channel 5 ranked her as #14 on their cumulative list of ‘World’s Greatest Supermodels’.
In 1999, she was named one of ‘People’ magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People’.