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Update, 3/22/17: Good news, Hadid fans: Yolanda Foster has signed on to star in her very own reality series, in which she shall benevolently help other momagers manage their aspiring model offspring in their careers. No word on whether Gigi and Bella Hadid will be joining her on the show, but we guarantee that somewhere on Earth, Kris Jenner is kicking herself right now. The show has a working title of Model Moms (of course), as USA Today reports, and it’s a big step up for the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star (in some ways). All we can say is—yes, Foster really did have a (heavy) hand in her daughters’ ascent to fame, and now she’s putting that out there for all the world to see. Can’t wait for this one.
Original Post, 8/18/16: If you haven’t been watching too closely, you may assume that Gigi and Bella Hadid hit the modeling scene naturally, relying on their insane good looks and poise to catapult them to the top. And while that may be true in part, the beautiful Hadid sisters have not always been destined for the runway, Page Six reported today.
Their mom, Yolanda Foster, played an important role in molding them into models, the publication insists. And they make a good case: Back in 2012, Foster was all up in Gigi’s grill while she was getting her modeling career off the ground, coaching her on how to look and act.
Bella, meanwhile, was kept out of the spotlight, considered the “elusive, awkward Nicky Hilton to Gigi’s Paris,” they assert. In the past four years, in other words, Foster may have played a similar role to the one Kris Jenner is so proficient at in her own famous family.
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Foster, a former model herself and star of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” taught the girls everything she knew, and after Bella got a DUI in Los Angeles at the age of 17, she wound up launching a modeling career herself. Page Six writes that the sisters’ father, Mohamed Hadid, paid for a nose job and upper-lip implant for Bella “according to reports.”
Though it’s unclear exactly how heavy-handed Foster has been with the girls, there have been some weird bits of evidence over the years that have pointed to the model mom’s influence. In 2014, Foster tweeted a couple of photos of Gigi from Sports Illustrated in a bikini, adding “❤️This is why @GiGiHadid choose 2 have a small bite of her cake and I supported her by example #dedicated #committed.” Only one word for that: Wow.
https://twitter.com/yolandahfoster/status/435702770197229568The director and co-owner of New York Model Management, Cory Bautista, told Page Six that Gigi’s fame was helped by the fact that she appeared on her mom’s show. “I believe the popularity of her mom being on the show—and plus her featuring her on an episode or two of her modeling—helped gain her popularity to what it is now,” he told them.
And even if Bella wasn’t a natural, she may have been given some leeway. “If Bella didn’t know how to model, I’m sure they were given some allowances because Gigi had already paved the way for her sister to come in and go on the same path,” Bautista added.
We’ve covered the drama in recent months that unfolded when Stephanie Seymour allegedly called Gigi and her BFF Kendall Jenner “bitches of the moment,” and Rebecca Romijn said they’re “social media stars,” and “not true supermodels,” so—this Page Six takedown isn’t exactly the first time anyone has uttered such a thought. That said, does it matter? Gigi and Bella are laughing all the way to the bank, so—perhaps everyone is just jealous.
