What Is Gigi Hadid’s Real Name?
Gigi Hadid is one the world’s most famous models — alongside Kendall Jenner, with whom Hadid has an interesting familial connection.
Lately, Hadid has been gaining fans’ attention as her secret pregnancy with partner Zayn Malik has come to light.
As fans were baffled about why Hadid kept the pregnancy from them, Hadid explained that she didn’t want to make things about herself in the midst of a global crisis, saying: “I think a lot of people are confused why I’m not sharing more, but I’m pregnant through a pandemic. Obviously, my pregnancy is not the most important thing going on in the world.”
Still, it’s clear that fans are looking for a distraction from the news, and learning more about their favorite celebrities’ lives is just the thing many are seeking. With that in mind, they might want to know a little more about Gigi Hadid herself — including her real name.
Gigi Hadid rose to fame very young
Hadid was born into a family already used to the spotlight. Her mother is Yolanda Hadid, famous for her work on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Her father, Mohamed Hadid, was already very wealthy from high-end real estate deals before Gigi Hadid was even born. More recently, her father filed for bankruptcy in 2019, but Hadid spent her childhood living a very wealthy lifestyle of luxury.
She also found her calling early on. Modeling at the age of only two, Hadid was fast-tracked for fame. She appeared during New York Fashion Week in 2014 and won the coveted International Model of the Year award in 2016. In 2017, she received even more accolades when she was named Glamour’s Woman of the Year.
Since then, the star has gone on to impress with her modeling skills and rack up an enormous social media following — including 56 million Instagram followers.
Fans have wanted to see more of Gigi Hadid’s life
With a following that large, Hadid is under a lot of pressure to connect with fans and keep that support going. One way that celebrities build these connections is by sharing intimate details about their lives.
Hadid recently did that by giving a virtual tour of her home, and she opened herself up to harsh criticism about her decor choices. The eclectic style dominating her New York City apartment left many fans perplexed.
The bold color scheme and odd details — including a kitchen decorated with dry pasta — left many scrambling to get to the comment section to voice their displeasure. Still, many fans came to her defense saying that her home should reflect her own tastes and preferences and that she shouldn’t need to decorate to please someone who would never even step foot in her apartment. One thing is certain, no one could accuse the model of not displaying her unique personality through her decor choices.
‘Gigi Hadid’ is not her real name
It might surprise fans to learn that “Gigi” is not Hadid’s real name, according to Best Life Online. She was born Jelena Hadid, but when she was in grade school, her teacher often had trouble verbally differentiating between her name and a classmate named Helena.
The teacher was looking for a solution to the problem and asked Hadid’s mother if there was a nickname to use instead. Hadid’s mother said, “I call her Gigi sometimes.”
Obviously, the name stuck around for a lot longer than the school year. Gigi Hadid is now known all over the world by her family’s nickname, and people likely wouldn’t even make the connection between her and the name “Jelena.” We’ll have to stay tuned to find out if Hadid carries on the tradition of a cute nickname for her own bundle of joy, who should be making a debut soon.
