Hanne Gaby Odiele (born 8 October 1988) is a Belgian

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

Early life

Odiele was born on 8 October 1988 in

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and large ...

, Belgium. They were born with an

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bin ...

condition called

androgen insensitivity syndrome Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a difference in sex development involving hormonal resistance due to androgen receptor dysfunction. It affects 1 in 20,000 to 64,000 XY ( karyotypically male) births. The condition results in the partial ...

. As a child, Odiele underwent medical procedures relating to their intersex variation, which they said took place without their or their parents' informed consent. Odiele was told about their intersex variation weeks before beginning their modelling career.

Career

Odiele was noticed by Tom Van Dorpe while attending the ''Novarock'' rock festival in

Kortrijk, Belgium Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

.FMD Profile
/ref> In 2005, Odiele signed with Supreme Management in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In September, Odiele made their debut on the runways, walking for

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

, Rodarte, Ruffian, and

Thakoon Thakoon Panichgul (; th, ฐากูร พานิชกุล, born in Nakhon Phanom Province, Thailand) is a Thai- American fashion designer. Biography Panichgul moved to the United States with his family when he was 11 years old. He ...

in New York. In 2006, they appeared in features for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and became the face of Philosophy di

Alberta Ferretti Alberta Ferretti (; ) is an Italian fashion designer and dressmaker. She designs for her namesake brand Alberta Ferretti, and designed for Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti until 2014. Her showroom is in Milan, Italy but her studio is in her na ...

. In December 2006, Odiele was hit by a car that ran a red light, breaking their legs. After multiple surgeries and several months of intense physical therapy, Odiele was back on the

catwalk A fashion show (French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fal ...

in Spring and Fall 2008 shows, walking for Chanel,

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

, Prada, and others. Odiele has been in magazines such ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''No ...

'', '' Marie Claire'', '' Teen Vogue'', and ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

''. Odiele has appeared on the cover of ''Vogue'' and '' French Revue de Modes''.Frenchrevue.com Covers
/ref> Odiele has booked some of the industry's most lucrative campaigns, including those for Mulberry, Balenciaga,

Anna Sui Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1964) is an American fashion designer. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America ( ...

Vera Wang Vera Ellen Wang (; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer. Early life Vera Ellen Wang was born June 27, 1949 in New York City to Chinese parents who emigrated to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu (Wu ...

, and

DKNY Jeans DKNY is a New York City–based fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. History Karan worked for 15 years at Anne Klein, including 10 as its head designer. In 1984 Karan and her late husband Stephan Weiss were offered t ...

. Odiele is currently represented by Women Management in New York, Milan and Paris.

Personal life

Odiele lives in Williamsburg,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in New York City. Odiele married model John Swiatek in 2016. After publicly disclosing their intersex status in 2017, Odiele partnered with

interACT Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organizati ...

to advocate for

intersex human rights Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies." Intersex peo ...

. In the same year, in interviews with ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' and ''

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...

'', Odiele described their identity as an intersex woman, and their desire for an intersex community. In 2019, Odiele came out as non-binary in Flemish newspaper ''

De Morgen ''De Morgen'' (Dutch for ''The Morning'') is a Flemish newspaper with a circulation of 53,860. The paper is published in Antwerp, Belgium. History and profile ''De Morgen'' originates from a merger in 1978 of two socialist newspapers ' (meaning ...

''. Odiele uses ''they/them'' pronouns in English and ''hen/hun'' in Dutch.

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odiele, Hanne Gaby 1988 births Living people Belgian expatriates in the United States Belgian models Intersex non-binary people Non-binary models People from Kortrijk Intersex models