Adwoa Aboah
Born to a Ghanaian father and British mother, the 25-year-old is a successful fashion model who has worked with top brands such as Chanel and Marc Jacobs.
As a feminist and mental health activist, the Ghanaian-British supermodel recently lent her voice to a new campaign meant to address depression and problems associated with mental illness. She admits that worrying about her appearance has led her to suffer from depression and drug abuse.
Aboah’s struggle with her body image, drug, and alcohol abuse resulted in bipolar disorder. Things eventually came to a head in 2015, when she overdosed and ended up in a coma. Ultimately, support from her mother helped her to pull through what was perhaps the most difficult period of her life.
She later founded the non-profit Gurls Talk to help other young people who are struggling with mental health issues. The 2017 winner of the British Fashion Awards told Vogue in an interview this April that she never once imagined her future as that of a successful model, let alone one that was just appointed Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council.