Adut Akech – 5 facts about the Vogue award-winning Saint Laurent model praised by Meghan Markle and outspoken about racism in fashion
The South Sudanese-turned-Australian caught Meghan Markle’s attention and was named Vogue readers’ model of the year in 2018
Adut Akech is a world-famous model with a fascinating life story and background that has made her who she is today. Here are five interesting facts about this amazing young 20-year-old woman.
She both South Sudanese and Australian
Akech was born in what is now South Sudan, but grew up in Kenya until she was seven years old. Her family then moved to Australia as refugees, which is how she came to be a national of both South Sudan and Australia.
She was renamed Mary as a child
When she began attending school in Australia, her teachers found it difficult to pronounce her name properly and so renamed her “Mary”. It’s not hard to understand why they would have made such a decision, given that the nation has only recently begun accepting large-scale immigration from Africa. African-Australians make up only 1.6 per cent of the nation’s population; plus, the city of Adelaide, where her family moved, is not one of the main areas that African-Australians live in.
She’s outspoken about racism