Fatima Siad

Fatima’s story is a typical rags-to-riches tale. Emerging from a difficult childhood, she has evolved into a confident and courageous young woman. She is very close to her mother who is her pillar of support.

A childhood victim of genital mutilation, she speaks openly about the practice and hopes that in future other girls will not have to go through this horrible experience.

She was born on 17 December 1986 in Mogadishu, Somalia to a Somali mother and an Ethiopian father. She had two sisters. Her parents had a troubled marriage and divorced when Fatima was quite young.

Her early life was fraught with tragedies and she grew up in difficult circumstances. Both her sisters were killed during the civil war, leaving her alone with her grief-stricken mother.

She was just seven when she was forced to undergo genital mutilation, a common but cruel practice in certain African communities. This incident would haunt her for years before she could gather the courage to share her painful story with the world.

Her mother was terrified for Fatima’s safety after the deaths of her other daughters and thus fled to the United States in an attempt to secure her lone surviving daughter’s future. Fatima was 13 at that time.

As a result of her traumatic childhood experiences Fatima became an insecure child, low on confidence and self-esteem. Her initial years in the United States were difficult for her.

Fatima had never been a fashionable girl. But when she was in college, some friends noticed her height, shapely figure, and poise and told her that she should become a model, an idea that had never crossed the nerdy girl’s mind so far.

She was tall, slim, and blessed with exotic features. Yet she had no idea that she was so beautiful! But she started dressing more fashionably at the insistence of her friends and soon gained confidence in her beauty.

In 2008, when auditions were held for the reality television show, ‘America’s Next Top Model’, cycle 10, she decided on a whim to audition for it. It was a last-minute, random decision and she was nervous. She easily cleared the audition and was selected as a candidate.

In order to go ahead with the show, she had to drop out of college. Initially she was afraid of her mother’s reaction, but was pleasantly surprised when her mother supported her wholeheartedly.

In the competition she received three first call-outs and four bottom-two appearances. She also won one challenge, in which she received 50 extra frames.