Isabella Khairiah "Bella" Hadid was born on October 9, 1996, in Washington, D.C. She was raised in Los Angeles, California, by her parents, Mohamed Hadid, a real-estate developer, and Yolanda Hadid, a former model. Her mother is of Dutch-American descent, and her father is of Palestinian-American descent.
Bella has two siblings, an older sister named Gigi, who is also a model, and a younger brother, Anwar. She also has two older half-sisters, Marielle and Alana, on her father's side. The family lived on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, for ten years before moving to Los Angeles.
As a teenager, Bella was an equestrian and had dreams of competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, she was forced to give up competing in 2013 due to her chronic Lyme disease diagnosis in 2012. Her mother and brother also suffer from the same condition.
In 2014, Bella moved to New York City to pursue a career in modeling. She began studying photography at Parsons School of Design and signed with IMG Models shortly before. She has since dropped out of school to focus on her modeling career.
Bella made her modeling debut at age 16 with a Flynn Skye commercial project. She has since appeared in numerous campaigns and editorials for top fashion brands and magazines. She made her New York Fashion Week debut in 2014 and has since walked for top designers such as Tom Ford, Diane von Fürstenberg, and Marc Jacobs.
In addition to her modeling career, Bella has also expressed interest in acting and fashion photography. She has appeared in short films and has shot editorials for several magazines.
