It is worth noting that in 2018, Anok was the second black model to open the Prada women's ready-to-wear fall-winter runway in Milan after Campbell did it in 1997. Interestingly, that was the year our protagonist was born. Sometimes, destiny is whimsical.
Anok Yai's birth was influenced by the two bloody civil wars in South Sudan, a more than sufficient reason for her parents to flee the country in search of a better future. Settled in Cairo, when she was three or four years old, the family moved to the eastern United States as refugees.
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Forbes magazine echoed how the model's childhood was in her own words. "We were given housing and government assistance. If we hadn't been given that, I don't know where we would have ended up. Growing up, I saw how much my parents struggled. Having assistance alone was not enough. Luckily, my parents were able to find work, but they came to the United States with children and worked 12 to 16-hour days almost every day, and us kids had to learn to be independent."
Despite being welcomed with open arms, Anok's childhood was not so idyllic, as she experienced racism, was harassed in school because of her skin color, and received numerous insults, so she had to learn to be strong to take care of her younger siblings. She always had great cultural interests and planned to pursue higher education.
At a welcome party at the academic center in 2017, a photographer named Steven Hall asked Anok if he could take a photo of her. The young woman was wearing blue mini jeans, a large black bra covered by a transparent shirt, and beautiful curly hair blowing in the wind. When he posted it on Instagram the next day, the success was immediate. Due to the viral effect, Kyle Hagler, president of Next Management, did not hesitate to hire her.
In Vogue magazine, the businessman said, "Anok has something very special. Not only is she beautiful, but she is intelligent and has a true understanding of the community."
When her parents found out that Anok wanted to leave her studies, they were very scared because what they most desired was for their little one to have a stable future. But "when they started to see that I could stand firm and hold my place in the industry, and be successful, they began to trust me more. Now they support me a lot and are happy that I can have a stable career. At my mother's house, she has photos of all my campaigns," the model admitted to Forbes. After the Prada runway, she quickly conquered the covers of British and American Vogue.
Regarding her love life, the model has tried to be quite cautious. Some rumors have claimed that two of her most relevant relationships have been with model Alton Mason and rapper Offset, shortly after he broke up with Cardi B.