The Most Unexpected Origin Story in the History of Modeling — Anok Yai

She was a biochemistry student working 40 hours a week — cleaning houses, stocking shelves at Walmart, grinding through college because her parents told her they couldn't afford to pay her way. She wasn't at a fashion school. She wasn't in New York. She wasn't even trying to be a model. She was at a friend's homecoming party at Howard University in October 2017 when a photographer asked to take her picture. That photo went viral overnight. Within 24 hours she had 30,000 new followers. Within days, agencies were flying her to New York. Within four months, she was opening the Prada runway — becoming the first Black model to do so in 20 years, since Naomi Campbell in 1997. This is the story of Anok Yai — the South Sudanese refugee who became one of the most powerful models in the world, and the fashion industry that tried to silence her along the way.