Mariama Gaye (born 3 December 1993) is a Gambian-Swedish model known for her work in high fashion. She is a descendant of the royal

Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding languages, Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or ''Manden ...

and is an African princess. Gaye has worked with several prominent designers and brands and has appeared in numerous magazines including

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

, and

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

. She is the first Gambian woman to be featured on

Vogue Scandinavia ''Vogue Scandinavia'' is the Scandinavian edition of the American fashion and lifestyle monthly magazine ''Vogue''. The magazine has been published since August 2021 and is the twenty-sixth local edition of ''Vogue''. History In June 2020, '' ...

Early life and education

Gaye was born in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, but moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the age of 6 to be reunited with her mother. She completed her high school education in social studies and media from Lundellska school in 2012. Currently, she is enrolled in the law program at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

Modelling career

Gaye started her modelling career at the age of 25 after being encouraged by her cousin to apply to modelling agencies. She was rejected by two agencies before finally being accepted by a smaller agency. After a year, she was featured in Elle, Vogue and Forbes. Despite her success, she faced bullying from other models and a couple of designers which caused her to consider taking a break from modelling. However, she persevered and joined MIKAs, the biggest agency in Sweden. She has since walked in several fashion shows, including Stockholm Fashion Week in August 2021, where she did two different shows and one was also shown on London Fashion Week. She has also been featured in multiple Vogue shoots, including a shoot in Denmark in March 2022. In April 2022, she walked the runway at the Elle gala in Sweden.

References

{{Reflist Gambian people African royalty Living people 1993 births Swedish female models Swedish people of Gambian descent