Princess Salwa Aga Khan (née Kendra Irene Spears; born August 5, 1988) is an American fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2008, participating in the Ford Models Supermodel of the World and walking in

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

. She has walked the runway for

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

, Christian Lacroix,

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

, and Valentino. Salwa has appeared on the covers of '' Amica'', '' Cover Magazine'', ''

Vogue China ''Vogue China'' ( zh, ') is the Chinese edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. The magazine carries a mixture of local and foreign content. ''Vogue China'' became the sixteenth edition of ''Vogue'' when its first issue was released for September 2005;

'', ''

Vogue Japan ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vog ...

'', ''

Vogue Germany 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'', ...

'', ''

Vogue México y Latinoamérica ''Vogue Mexico & Latin America'' is the Latin American edition of Vogue magazine. It is published in Mexico as ''Vogue Mexico'' and in the US and the rest of Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Allure'', and '' Numero'' and in editorials in '' Dazed & Confused'', '' V'', and ''

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 ''N ...

''. She has been the face of

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

's Code Fragrance, and

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. History Founding and 1990s Franco Mosc ...

's Pink Bouquet fragrance and modelled in advertisement campaigns for

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

Etro Etro is a family-managed Italian fashion house founded in 1968. It is mainly known for its paisley patterns, which the company started making in 1981. History Etro was founded in 1968 by Gerolamo "Gimmo" Etro as a textile design company. By the t ...

Diane von Fürstenberg Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin, 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as ...

Peek & Cloppenburg Peek & Cloppenburg is an international chain of department stores from Germany. The chain is operated by two separate and independent companies, Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf (known as P&C West) and Peek & Cloppenburg KG Hamburg (know ...

The Limited The Limited was an American clothing retailer that operated retail stores between the early 1960s and the late 2010s. After 2007, it became a brand, originally owned by the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, now owned by another private equ ...

. In 2013, she married Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the eldest son of

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

, at the Château de Bellerive in Switzerland. Upon her marriage, she converted to Islam and adopted the name Salwa, meaning "solace" in Arabic. She and Prince Rahim have two sons. They divorced in February 2022.

Early life and education

Kendra Irene Spears was born on August 5, 1988, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. She graduated from

South Kitsap High School South Kitsap High School is a public high school in the South Kitsap School District and is located at 425 Mitchell Ave Port Orchard, Washington. In 2018, the school had the largest student population in the state. History and facilities South K ...

with an

Associate's Degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

acquired through a dual-credit high school and college program (Running Start). She then attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

to study

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

, and obtained a BA in sociology from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. In January 2008, Salwa began her modeling career in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and went on to become a successful fashion model.

Career

In January 2008, Salwa participated in the Ford Models Supermodel of the World competition, after winning a modeling contest via MySpace. After the competition ended, she gained a contract with

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

of New York and debuted at

in September 2008. After success in New York, Salwa went on to walk for the most prestigious designers in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, including

, Christian Lacroix,

, and Valentino. Shortly after the show season ended in October, Salwa appeared on a succession of covers of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

fashion magazine ''

Cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

'' and the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

magazine '' Amica''. The covers were followed by a '' Dazed & Confused'' editorial featuring new faces of the season as well as editorials for '' V'' and ''

''. For the Fall 2009 season, Salwa was photographed by

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in ''Vogue'' and ''Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, ''Sex''. He is n ...

as one of the faces of

. Shortly afterwards, she moved back to Seattle to complete her degree at

. Although the move limited her ability to work, she still managed to shoot advertising campaigns including Stefanel shot by

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also cre ...

shot by Alasdair McLellan,

shot by

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and four ...

, and

. Throughout Salwa's career, she has been photographed for the cover of a number of ''

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'', ...

'' magazines worldwide, including ''Vogue China'', ''Vogue Japan'', ''Vogue Germany'', and ''Vogue Mexico''. She has also appeared on the covers of international editions of ''Elle'', ''Allure'', and ''Numero'' and in adverts for

, and ''The Limited''. Salwa was the face of

Code Fragrance and

Pink Bouquet Fragrance in 2012.

Married life

On April 26, 2013,

announced the engagement of his eldest son, Prince

Rahim Aga Khan Prince Rahim Aga Khan (; born 12 October 1971) is the second of the Aga Khan IV’s four children. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, he has been actively involved for many years in the governance of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Early ...

, to Kendra Spears. The couple married on August 31, 2013, at the Château de Bellerive, Geneva. This was formerly the home of

Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan ( ar, صدر الدين آغا خان, , 1933 – 2003) was a statesman and activist who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1977, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond ...

, his half great-uncle, and Princess Aliya. The bride has since been known as Princess Salwa. On October 29, 2014, it was announced that the princess was expecting her first child with Prince Rahim. On April 14, 2015, His Highness The Aga Khan announced to the Ismaili community that on April 11, 2015, Princess Salwa had given birth to a healthy baby boy, her first child, Prince Irfan Aga Khan, in Geneva. The name Irfan in Arabic means gnosis, or knowledge of the divine. A second son was born in London on January 2, 2017, and is known as Prince Sinan. The couple divorced in February 2022.http://heritage.ismaili.net/node/37545

References

External links

*
The Internet Fashion Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aga Khan, Salwa Living people 1988 births American Ismailis Female models from Washington (state) Portland State University alumni American female models University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Princesses by marriage Converts to Islam Noorani family