Halima Aden

Halima Aden is an American fashion model of Somali heritage. She gained national prominence after competing as a semi-finalist in the Miss Minnesota USA 2016 pageant, where she became the first contestant in the pageant to wear a hijab and a burkini. Following the pageant, she was signed to IMG Models and became recognized as the first hijab-wearing model to walk international runways and sign with a major modeling agency. She also became the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Aden was born on September 19, 1997, in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya to a Somali family. At six years old, she moved to the United States and settled in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She attended Apollo High School, where her classmates voted her homecoming queen, and subsequently enrolled as a student at St. Cloud State University.

Her modeling career expanded rapidly following her 2016 pageant appearance. In 2017, Aden signed a three-year contract with renewal with IMG Models. She made her fashion week debut in February 2017 at New York Fashion Week for Yeezy Season 5. Later that year, she served as a preliminary and telecast judge for the Miss USA 2017 pageant.

Aden has walked for fashion designers including Maxmara and Alberta Ferretti, and participated in the 2016 Milan Fashion Week and London Modest Fashion Week. She posed for American Eagle, British Glamour, and appeared on the cover of CR Fashion Book. In June 2017, she became the first hijab-wearing model featured on the covers of Vogue Arabia, Allure, and British Vogue. In early 2020, she became the first black woman wearing a hijab on the cover of Essence magazine.

In addition to modeling, Aden became a UNICEF ambassador in 2018 focusing on children's rights. In April 2019, she collaborated with modest clothing brand Modanisa to design her turban and shawl collection, Halima x Modanisa, which released at Istanbul Modest Fashion Week. In May 2019, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue wearing her hijab and burkini.

Aden maintained her hijab as a non-negotiable term in her modeling contracts. In November 2020, she announced via Instagram that she had quit runway modeling because it compromised her religious beliefs, though she later indicated she would model under her own conditions. Her decision received support from industry figures including Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, and Bella Hadid. She subsequently stated plans to become the first Somali woman to compete at Miss Universe. On July 27, 2025, she announced she would begin wearing the niqab and archive her social media account.

In December 2021, Aden was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women.