Alek Wek
Alek Wek (born
April 16 1977) is a
Sudanese
supermodel who appeared on the catwalks at the age of 18 in
1995. She is originally from the
Dinka tribe in the
Sudan, but her family fled to
Britain to escape the civil war between the
Muslim North and the
Christian South of the Sudan.
She also designs a range of designer handbags, which are available throughout selected
Selfridges department stores.
She was born in
Wau in
Southern Sudan and lived there until she was 12, and then moved to England in 1991.
Alek was discovered at an outdoor market in
London in 1995 in Crystal Palace, south London, by a models 1 scout. She first got attention with the help of the music video for
GoldenEye by
Tina Turner, in 1995 and from there made it into the world of fashion as one of its top models.
She is a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees' Advisory Council, and is helping to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide.
See also: John Galliano's Spring-Summer 2004 Haute Couture collection*
Alek Wek's profile in the FMD-database
