Wonder
Woman With Down Syndrome Who Became Model Is Changing The Definition Of Beauty
She is another representative that we need!
Chelsea Werner is a name that’s on the rise in the modeling world. The model stands from most because her appearance is one that many people typically relate to a developmental disorder: Down Syndrome.
The extra copy on her chromosome, however, turned her into such an achieving figure in any field she’s in, whether that’s modeling or gymnastic!
Like other children with Down Syndrome, Chelsea emotionally grows at a much slower pace than most.
But just like them, too, she has and runs for her dream: modeling.
Chelsea’s mother, Lisa, talked about how they were faced with a wall of challenges trying to find an agency that wants to take in Chelsea. She told Teen Vogue, “We contacted all sorts of agencies in San Francisco and L.A., and every one of them told us that there’s no market for a model with a disability.”
But they eventually found one, WeSpeak, and Chelsea has since been featured in many ads and photoshoots, including Aerie which is popular for its inclusivity.
She told the brand in a contest video that she deserves to be on the ad because she’s a “strong and proud” girl. And she did!
But before her modeling career, Chelsea was a two times World Champion winner in gymnastics and four times Special Olympic Champion.
She started training at the age of 5 and was making history with her achievments.
Lisa, Chelsea’s mother, talked about how her daughter’s featuring was favored by many people, “The Aerie campaign was so popular that I think the public really wants to see more people with disabilities.”
“I think if other companies see the positive feedback they’re going to realize it’s a really good thing for them to do, business-wise. It’s a huge segment of the population that has disabilities.”
She’s now the face of many big campaigns and has walked the runway at New York Fashion Week. She’s also made it as the face of the H&M campaign and TeenVogue’s magazine cover.
As well as the promotional poster from Petite Ave!
Her experiences shared on Instagram got her more than 800k followers now. Lisa said, “We get comments all the time and messages that Chelsea is giving them hope for their children because in the past they didn’t really see a great future for their kids.”
“When they see someone like Chelsea achieving their dreams and doing things that have never been done, it seems to have a huge impact.”
“That makes us want to do even more,” the mom happily concluded.
