You don’t need to be familiar with the modeling industry to know who Gigi Hadid is… She is arguably one of the most sought-after faces in the modeling world, having graced the covers of top magazines from Vogue to She and Guess.
Her popularity as a model has seen her take on other gigs like hosting award shows and appearing in the music videos of stars like Miguel and his dear friend Taylor Swift. Let’s explore the details of his family as well as his romantic life.
Father Gigi Hadid – Mohamed Hadid
Gigi Hadid was born on April 23, 1995, in Los Angeles, California, to Mohamed Hadid’s father and mother, Yolanda Hadid (née van den Herik), a Dutch American former model.
Gigi’s father, Mohamed Hadid, born November 6, 1948 in Nazareth, is a successful real estate developer. He holds dual citizenship as a Jordanian-American and is of Palestinian descent.
Mohamed moved often as a child before his family eventually settled in Washington DC where his own father Anwar Hadid worked at Voice of America headquarters. He was then 14 years old. Gigi’s father attended North Carolina State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In the 1970s, he began his career by reselling. He then moved to Greece where he started running a nightclub. With proceeds from his nightclub business, Gigi’s father began investing in real estate in America.
Mohamed’s real estate empire grew rapidly, and in the late 80s he was able to buy the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Washington and New York for 150 million dollars. He then expanded his operations at the Ritz Carlton to include Houston, Arizona and Aspen where he reportedly beat Donald Trump with choice packages he bought for around $43 million.
Some of the properties that Gigi Hadid’s father came to develop include Bel Air’s Le Belvedere mansion, Crescent Palace as well as several other luxury properties in Bel Air and Beverly Hills.
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Today, his net worth is estimated at $200 million. Mohamed Hadid wrote his name in the history books in 1992, when he became the only Jordanian to compete in the Winter Olympics. He had represented his country in speed skiing.
Before marrying Yolanda (Gigi’s mom) in 1994, Gigi’s father was first married to Mary Butler and together they had two daughters; Alana Hadid and Marielle Hadid. His marriage to Butler ended in 1992. After divorcing Yolanda in 2000, Mohamed began a relationship with model and businesswoman Shiva Safai, 33 years younger than him. They got engaged in 2014.
Mohamed was accused in February 2018 of rape by model Miranda Vee. Although he agreed to meet the young model, he denied the rape allegations which were made after famous model Kate Upton accused the friend of Mohamed Guess, founder of Paul Marziano, of having him sexually assaulted.
Mom – Yolanda Hadid
Gigi’s mom, Yolanda, was born on January 11, 1964 in Papendrecht, Netherlands, where she was also raised. She became a model by accident after Dutch designer Frans Molenaar asked her to fill in for one of the models at a show.
Yolanda proved to be a natural on the catwalk and eventually caught the eye of Eileen Ford who signed her for the prestigious Ford Models, launching her modeling career.
She then modeled in Paris, Tokyo, Hamburg, Cape Town, Sydney, Milan, Los Angeles and New York. After 15 years as a model, Yolanda decided to start a family after meeting Mohamed Hadid.
However, her marriage to Mohamed Hadid was short-lived, lasting only about 6 years. On Christmas Eve, Yolanda got engaged to musician, songwriter and producer David Foster. They married in Beverly Hills, California on November 11, 2011. Yolanda and Foster separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2017, after which Yolanda changed her last name to Hadid.
Gigi’s mother was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012 and has been living with the pain ever since. In 2017, she published her memoir; “Believe Me: My Battle Against the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease”. Yolanda was a member of the reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Her own reality show competition Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid aired on January 11, 2018 on Lifetime.
Brothers and sisters
Gigi Hadid has two siblings; Bella Hadid (born Isabella Khair Hadid on October 9, 1996) and Anwar Hadid (born June 22, 1999), who both followed in the footsteps of Gigi and their mom Yolanda to become models.
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Both of Gigi’s siblings are signed to IMG models. Gigi and her sister Bella have featured in a handful of modeling appearances together. They did a nude cuddling photo for the cover of British Vogue’s March 2018 issue.
Bella and Anwar were both in 2012 alongside their mom diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Dating/Boyfriend – Zayn Malik
Gigi Hadid has dated two other stars in the entertainment industry. She was in a relationship with singer Cody Simpson. For a period of 5 months in 2015, she dated Joe Jonas after which she started dating One Direction star Zayn Malik.
She appeared as Zayn’s girlfriend in the video for his song “Pillowtalk”. They became the third couple to appear together on the cover of Vogue.