PacificCoastNewsBella Hadid turns 19 today and, while at this point it feels as though she's always been a part of the It girl conversation, she actually just burst on the scene barely a year ago.
And while her claim to fame at first was being Yolanda Foster's daughter and Gigi Hadid's younger sister, that is certainly no longer the case. Eighteen was a huge year for the model and 19 is promising even bigger things, judging by the pace at which Bella has hit the ground running.
The leggy brunette was appearance once in 2014 on Mom's show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and then it was just on. She jetted off to New York and was all of a sudden almost as everywhere as Gigi, appearing on countless magazine pages, posing at major red carpet events and, of course, walking oodles of runways. Acquiring a most buzzed-about boyfriend—R&B star The Weeknd—certainly didn't hurt the Bella-awareness factor, either.
Sure enough, when Bella scored her first solo fashion-mag cover, the December 2014 issue of Jalouse, we wondered, Is she the next big thing?
And the answer was yes, yes she was. She wasn't the only social-media-promoted, squad-fueled young woman whose career seemingly skyrocketed over the past 12 months, so she's had to share the spotlight with an inordinately sprawling group of up-and-comers—but she's got the goods to hold her own from here on out.
Here's a look at the ways in which Bella has come into her own:
Street-Style Smarts: Every It Girl has to be known for her not-styled style, and Bella's flair for putting an ensemble together on the go has made the paps—and the taste-maker sites—take notice. In the daytime, she often sports the trend of the day, be it layers of boho beads, Coachella chic, athleisure wear or the ridiculously au courant slim-skirt-with-oversized-sweater combo, while her evening and date-night looks tend toward the feminine with an edgy, or edgily revealing, twist.
She Comes With an All-Star Squad: Bella often does have to share the squad with her sister, but since Gigi's only 20 it's hardly a little-sis-tagging-along scenario. Her pack of pals includes Hailey Baldwin, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Stella Maxwell and singer Jesse Jo Stark.
Bookin' It: The IMG model's Fashion Week (New York, Milan and Paris) runway appearances this year have included Desigual, Diane von Furstenberg, Yeezy Season 2, Tommy Hilfiger, Moschino and she's appeared in campaigns for Balmain, Ralph Lauren Denim Supply, Victoria's Secret Pink . Editorially speaking, Bella was tapped for Love's 2014 Advent Calendar (think many scantily clad hotties counting down to Xmas), W's "Privacy Settings" spread, CR Fashion Book, V mag, i-D magazine, the cover of Editorialist, Vogue Australia and more.
Bella has also become quite the scenester, her road to the just-concluded Paris Fashion Week including stops this year at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, the Met Gala, the CFDA Fashion Awards and the MuchMusic Video Awards.
On-Point Instagram Game: Exotic destinations, check. My-work's-more-glamorous-than-yours pics, check. Funny faces, check. Effortlessly gorgeous "Who, me?" shots, check. "My hot friends and I are such weirdos," check. Her own paparazzi shots? Check. Food? Check. Family, check. Long story short, Bella's got 1.4 million Instagram followers and counting.
She Still Jumps for Joy: While so many other young models have combined to form a gelatinous mass of midriffs and ponytails, Bella has kept up with her equestrienne training—she's been riding since she is 3—and is hoping to win a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team for show jumping.
"My mom and I were FaceTiming the other day and she said, 'It's so crazy how much you've done in such a short time that others don't get to do in a lifetime,'" Bella told Editorialist back in August. "It was a really gratifying moment because I look up to her so much and since I've started modeling, it hit me. I love this and I want to do it for a really long time."
Seems likely. Happy birthday, Bella—we can't wait to see what you do next!
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