Bella Hadid Says She Feels Lucky To Still Be Alive After Growing Up Modelling

Bella Hadid says she feels 'lucky' to have made it out alive after starting her modelling career at such a young age.

The 24-year-old opened up about her struggles with mental health over the years, saying that she used to adopt an 'alter-ego' when she was out in public.

In a video for Vogue magazine, Hadid, who began modelling when she was just 17, looked back at her iconic looks over the years, including 'that' red dress moment at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

She says in the video: "OK, so this is apparently a very iconic red dress moment.

"I was nervous in this dress. I look very sexual and all these things. I was still nervous about cameras and nervous about having a lot of makeup on.

PA

"I kind of get embarrassed of this moment still, even though the dress is gorgeous.

"It just, again, doesn't feel so much like me, and I think that this was the start of the 'Bella' persona that everyone sees of me. That's my alter ego. That's Belinda."

Hadid adds: "I'm just so the opposite of her. She's very va-va-voom. You know, bless her. Love her. She was very nervous.

"I was still nervous about cameras, and nervous about having a lot of makeup on, and nervous about this slit.

"I think that maybe there was one little slip that happened. But I kind of get embarrassed of this moment still even though the dress is gorgeous.

Vogue/YouTube

"It just, again, doesn't feel so much like me."

During the video, Hadid talks about a photo of her from Milan Fashion Week in 2016, where she is seen looking quite serious.

Explaining the reason behind it, she says: "People used to make fun of me and say that I never smiled.

"It was just because I was in a really bad place physically and mentally."

Vogue/YouTube

Looking back at the pressures she experienced after joining the industry at a very young age, Hadid says she doesn't really know how she made it.

She explains: "I feel blessed that I made it out alive, of that mental state that I was in for so many years.

"It feels good."

She then remarks on a photo of her from Cannes, which was taken earlier this year.

"It makes me emotional, actually, because I'm, like, so happy in this picture," she says.

"For the first time in, I think, my whole adult life, here I feel at ease... happy and able to work. I feel good about myself. I felt beautiful."

Topics: Celebrity, Bella Hadid, Mental Health, Fashion, US News

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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