Liya Kebede's Supermodel Role
Monday, April 28, 2008
Steven Meisel is shooting Liya Kebede today for Italian Vogue's black model-themed issue, but when she wraps, Kebede has another gig already lined up.
The Ethiopian-born supermodel will soon begin work on her third movie, an indie flick entitled Desert Flower. "It's being directed by an German-American named Sherry Horman," she said at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
"I'm going to Europe in June to shoot it and it's based on the autobiography of the Somalian model Waris Dirie."
Kebede plays the lead role in the $16 million adaptation of Dirie's bestselling autobiography, which traces her rise from a childhood in the Somali desert to the catwalks of the international fashion community and her role as a United Nations spokeswoman against circumcision--elements of which Kebede can relate to as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador and founder of The Liya Kebede Foundation.