1. Halima Aden is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA 2016 pageant, where she was a semi-finalist.
19 Facts About Halima Aden
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Halima Aden was the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
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Halima Aden was born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya on September 19,1997 and comes from a Somali family.
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Halima Aden attended Apollo High School where her classmates voted her as their school homecoming queen.
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Halima Aden is a student at St Cloud State University.
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In 2016, Halima Aden received national media attention after competing in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she becoming the first contestant in the pageant to wear a burkini and a hijab.
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Halima Aden later served as a preliminary and telecast judge of the Miss USA 2017 pageant.
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Halima Aden has since walked for numerous designers, including Maxmara and Alberta Ferretti.
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Halima Aden has participated in the 2016 Milan Fashion Week and London Modest Fashion Week.
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Halima Aden posed for American Eagle and British Glamour, and has a CR Fashion Book cover.
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Halima Aden was the first hijab-wearing model to walk international runways and to be signed to a major agency.
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In May 2019, Halima Aden became the first model to wear the hijab and burkini in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
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Halima Aden released the collection at the Istanbul Modest Fashion Week on April 20,2019.
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In November 2020, Halima Aden announced in a series of Instagram stories that she had quit runway modelling as it compromised her religious beliefs, though since then she has indicated that she would do modelling work as long as she could set the conditions.
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Halima Aden received support for her decision from Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, and Bella Hadid.
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Halima Aden later announced that she had planned to become the first Somali woman to compete at Miss Universe.
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Halima Aden has spoken out about difficulties she faces in booking modeling jobs that are not accommodating to the fact that she wears the hijab.
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Halima Aden described positive experiences as with Maxmara, where looks were specifically designed for her considering her clothing choices.
19.
Halima Aden reaffirms that she does not need to conform to society's standards in order to be a successful model.