- The Hadids have become one of the most famous modeling families in the fashion industry over the past decade — they've even been called the "first family" of fashion.
- The three children, Gigi, Bella, and Anwar are all runway and campaign models with a combined estimated net worth of more than $57 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
- Yolanda and Mohamed Hadid were both immigrants in America when they were just starting out in their industries — modeling and real estate, respectively. The couple divorced in 2000.
- Now, Gigi and Bella have built their own empire — dominating the covers of international and American Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and so many more magazines. But that doesn't mean they're immune to criticism by the public.
- Three out of five Hadid family members have Lyme disease, and the entire family has used their wealth and influence to bring awareness to the disease.
- Here's how the Hadid family built their fashion empire and what their lives look like now.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
The Hadid family is known for their presence in the fashion industry, mainly through modeling and collaborating with designers and brands. They've had so much influence on the industry that they've been called "the first family of fashion" by The Telegraph.
Source: The Telegraph
Matriarch Yolanda Hadid was — and still is — a model herself. She moved to the US from Holland when she was 16 years old and worked in New York City as a model so she could send money home to her family — she said she took on the role of "provider" after her father died.
Yolanda met and married Mohamed Hadid — an immigrant himself from Palestine — in 1994. They had three children together, whom they raised on a farm in Santa Barbara.
The pair have two daughters, Jelena Noura Hadid — who goes by her nickname Gigi ...
... and Bella Hadid.
They also have a son Anwar Hadid.
Patriarch Mohamed became known as a real-estate tycoon, developing residential mansions and Ritz Carlton hotels around the world — a business he turned into Hadid Design & Development Group. He has an estimated net worth of $400 million.
Source: Celebrity Net Worth, Hadid Design & Development Group, Town and Country
The couple married in 1994 and divorced in 2000.
Source: Money
Yolanda starred on Bravo's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" from 2012 through 2016, where her kids would sometimes appear in episodes.
Source: Bravo/YouTube, IMDb, Money, Entertainment Tonight
She reportedly had signed onto the show for six seasons and was earning a six-figure salary — she left the show after four seasons, though. Including reality TV salary, modeling pay, and money she acquired from her divorce from Mohamed, Yolanda's estimated net worth is around $45 million.
Source: Bravo/YouTube, IMDb, Money, Entertainment Tonight, Celebrity Net Worth
Even though they appeared on the reality show occasionally, Gigi, Bella, and Anwar grew up relatively out of the limelight — the show wasn't their job.
Source: Bravo/YouTube, Elle
Gigi did have a job as a child, though. She appeared in her first ad campaign at two years old modeling for Baby Guess.
Source: Bravo/YouTube, Teen Vogue
Gigi told Vogue that before her first Baby Guess campaign she cut her own bangs and said that's why she wore a bandana in the photos.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
But Yolanda made it a point to pull her out of modeling during her adolescence. She said she didn't want Gigi — or her other children — to be judged on how they looked before they got to become comfortable and confident in their own bodies.
Source: Bravo/YouTube, Teen Vogue
The women have both withstood their share of criticism while in the spotlight. Fans have even called out Gigi on Twitter for "changing her street style" and not showing as much skin.
Source: Insider
Of course, the supermodel clapped back, but she's also made it known that even as a kid she preferred basketball shorts and an LA Lakers jersey as a school day outfit.
During the time off Yolanda mandated, the kids developed their own hobbies and passions: Gigi's was athletics. As a teenager on an episode of RHOBH she said, "Modeling is my job, volleyball is my sport."
Source: Bravo/YouTube
Bella developed an affinity for photography and horseback riding.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
She even grew up with dreams of going to the Olympics for horseback riding.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
Bella told Vogue that there was also a point in her life when she never left the house without a camera. She said she loved taking photos and even enrolled in the film and photography school at Parsons School of Design in New York.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
Anwar signed with IMG modeling agency in 2016 at 16 years old.
Although he's actively modeling, Yolanda told W Magazine that he's still quite shy. "Unless I push him into things, he likes to be in the background and do his thing," she said.
Now, as he's nearing 20 years old, Anwar has found another passion project: unisex jewelry design.
Source: Vogue
All three siblings have said that they're extremely close with one another and their mom. The girls often borrow clothes from each other — as sisters do — and they have also been caught not-so-subtly shopping in Yolanda's closet.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
Yolanda has said that it's "cute" that they want to wear her clothes, but "sometimes they don't bring it back. So that's not that cute." Gigi made a good point, though: "Wouldn't you rather us shop in your closet than with a credit card?"
Source: Bravo
Although the three kids grew up in California mansions, Gigi said in an episode of the reality show that the best thing her parents ever gave her was their work ethic.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
Yolanda encouraged her kids to make their own money and not just rely on her and Mohamed. She told Gigi, "Make money so you can buy your first apartment in New York City," which is more closely related to her own history than viewers may have realized.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
Yolanda has talked openly about her pre-America past. She said she comes from a "very poor family" and "didn’t even know what Vogue or Cosmo or Elle was because it wasn’t part of my life." She came to the US with the equivalent of $55, but after working in New York and moving to Los Angeles, she eventually made her first big purchase: an apartment.
Source: Money
Financial awareness isn't the only piece of advice she's shared with her kids, though.
Gigi and Bella both said the best advice their mom gave them was that "if you're not the nicest, most hard-working girl in the industry there's going to be someone prettier, nicer, and more hard-working" who will take your place. And if you can't do those things, Bella said "there's no reason to model."
Source: Vogue/YouTube, Vogue/YouTube
She's also taught her kids about the importance of spending time together as a family. Yolanda has said that she thinks dinner time with the family is crucial to keeping a family close. Bella told Vogue that the Hadid holiday plans often vary in logistics, but all just aim for the whole family to be together.
Source: Vogue/YouTube, Bravo/YouTube, IMDb
The best advice Gigi said she got from her father was that "creativity can happen whenever, wherever," which includes in the kitchen! Gigi went on "Master Chef Celebrity Showdown" to compete for a check that would then be donated to the Lyme Alliance. She beat out a fellow model with her version of a burger that judge Gordon Ramsay called "f------ delicious."
Source: Vogue/YouTube, Entertainment Tonight/YouTube
Lyme disease awareness is a cause the entire family is passionate about supporting.
Fashion's "it" family isn't without their share of obstacles. Yolanda, Bella, and Anwar all have Lyme disease. Bella, like her mother, has become an advocate for awareness and has shared her story through speeches at fund raisers.
Source: Cosmopolitan
Gigi told Nina Garcia for Elle that "It's hard when your whole family is in pain and you don’t know what to do." Although she doesn't have Lyme disease herself, she does have Hashimoto's Disease — an autoimmune disorder attacking the thyroid gland.
It's not the only cause they're passionate about, though. Gigi has built shoe collaborations with Stuart Weitzman and Pencils of Promise, which helped to build schools in countries like Ghana, Guatemala, and Laos.
Source: V Magazine
She has also become an ambassador for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Source: Vogue Arabia, Variety
Before they could use their supermodel superpowers to advocate for causes, Gigi and Bella were just kids growing up in various places around California — after Yolanda and Mohamed's divorce, Yolanda and the kids relocated to Santa Barbara. She told Harper's Bazaar that they lived in Santa Barbara during the kids' pre-teen years and later moved to Malibu.
Source: Harper's Bazaar/YouTube
Yolanda said Gigi always wanted to be a model, but Bella never wanted to be one as a young girl. "She never even liked the camera," Yolanda told Harper's Bazaar.
Source: Harper's Bazaar/YouTube
She has described her daughters as "the black swan and the white swan" because of their differences in looks, but also their different personalities.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
She said there is normal competition between the two of them since they're so close in age, but they don't actually compete for the same modeling gigs all that often.
Source: Bravo/YouTube
That's because the sisters have such different looks from one another. But when they do compete for a job, it's mostly friendly competition. Bella told Harper's Bazaar Arabia, "If she gets it, then good for her. We're in the family, so she can buy me a pair of shoes." Seems like a fair deal!
Source: E!
Designer Jeremy Scott told Elle that Gigi has a "beautiful doll face" ...
Source: E!
... while Bella is "chiseled from perfection."
Source: E!
Plenty of people believe the Hadid sisters' rise to the top of the modeling industry wasn't just due to their pretty faces. "These girls could never walk into an agency and get a fair shot if they hadn't made it happen for themselves," casting director James Scully told Elle. "They're like the old-school girl, like Cindy Crawford. They've brought personality back to the business."
Source: E!
"They're both so well-behaved and personable and sweet and kind," Scott said.
Source: E!
Of Bella in particular, designer Michael Kors told The New York Post, "She keeps her cool, no matter what ... no drama," even when she fell on his runway.
Source: E!
The first of the three to walk the runway was Gigi — her first fashion show ever was for Guess's 30th anniversary.
Source: Guess/YouTube
Now, Anwar has joined the pack — they all get to work on some projects together like the Prabal Gurung Spring Summer 2019 runway show.
Source: Elle
They all love having each other to lean on when the going gets tough in their industry. Gigi even told Vogue that she and Bella will often FaceTime while on location and apart from one another.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
It didn't take long for Bella to join her sister in New York when they were first getting started. Gigi originally moved so that she could start working, but she also went to the New School to study criminal psychology. A year later, Bella started classes at Parsons.
Source: Vogue/YouTube
Aside from collaborating with designers like Tommy Hilfiger, acting as the face of a campaign for Calvin Klein, or helping out their mother on her newer reality TV series, "Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid," the Hadid women and men are surely staying busy, especially when fashion week rolls around.
