Malaika Firth

Malaika Firth
Malaika Firth
	Firth walking for Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2014 during New York Fashion Week
Born	23 March 1994 (age 30); Mombasa, Kenya
Nationality	British Kenyan
Children	1
	Modeling information
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Agency	Marilyn Agency (New York); Oui Management (Paris); Women Management (Milan); Premier Model Management (London); R1 Mgmt (Barcelona); Le Management (Copenhagen, Stockholm); Model Management (Hamburg); Folio Montreal (Montreal); Chic Management (Sydney); DT Model Management (West Hollywood);

Malaika Firth (born 23 March 1994)^[2] is a Kenyan-born British model. Firth attracted attention when, in 2013, she was booked as the first black model in nearly 20 years to appear in a Prada advertising campaign.

Early life

Firth was born in Mombasa, Kenya and brought up in Barking, a suburban town in East London, when she was seven years old.^[3] Her family in Kenya belongs to the ethnic group of the Giriama.^[4] Her father, Eric, is of British, Seychellois and Ugandan descent,^{[citation needed]} and mother, Jecinta, is half-Kenyan and half-Swiss. Malaika was born in Kenya and lived there until she was seven, when the family moved to Barking. Eric worked as a French polisher at the Four Seasons. When Malaika talks about her family you get a glimpse of her ambition, but also of a rootedness that might save her from her industry’s worst excesses. She says, "I don’t come from a posh or high-class background. We lived in flats in the ghetto, our version of 'the Bronx'. We weren’t poor, but there wasn't a lot of money. I shared a room with my sister and my auntie. I struggled getting by in school, with £2 for my lunch. When the EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) came out I was so excited – £20 a month! I appreciate everything that has happened. For me to have this career is life-changing for my family". Home is Kenya or New York – maybe Los Angeles, one day. "Everywhere is home. I am like a gypsy!" she says. She has not been back to Barking since she "blew up" – the family has all moved to Kenya, so there are no ties to east London left. "I only had one or two friends in sixth form anyway. I was bullied a lot at school. People were like – "she’s so shy, she’s so boring, I don’t want to talk to her. But – ha! – now look where I am. I see people's comments on Instagram, talking about how well I am doing. When I think about stuff like that I just think: "Thank you, God".^[5]

Career

Firth was encouraged by her mother to try out modeling, after watching an episode of "The Model Agency", which featured a documentary about the Premier Model Management.^[6]^[7] Her mother called up the agency and arranged a meeting with them.^[6]^[7] After attending an open-call casting, Firth was signed on the spot.^[8]

Beginning her modeling career at age 17, Firth soon began modeling internationally: She gave her runway-debut at the New York Fashion Week SS2012 for Odilon. She gained attention from the fashion industry after walking in the SS2014 Prada menswear show and starring in the Prada-fall 2013 campaign, which also featured Christy Turlington, Catherine McNeil, Cameron Russell, Freja Beha Erichsen, Fei Fei Sun and Rachel Williams and was shot by Steven Meisel.^[7]^[9]^[10] With this feat, she became the first Black model in 19 years to score a Prada campaign.^[4]^[11]^[7] The last Black model to book a Prada campaign was Naomi Campbell for the fall 1994 campaign.^[4]^[11]^[7]

Meanwhile, Firth experienced her runway-breakthrough with the fashion week for the Spring/Summer 2014 collections, walking more than 40 shows, including shows from Jean Paul Gaultier, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Dolce & Gabbana among others. In November 2013, she debuted at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.^[10]

For the Spring/Summer 2014 campaign season, Firth booked campaigns from Valentino, Burberry and Prada for the second-consecutive time.^[9]^[12]

Personal life

Firth is currently based in London.^[8] If it was not for modeling, Firth would have tried out acting.^[8] She acted in several amateur productions in Barking local theatre.^[13] Her grandmother runs a restaurant in Kenya.^[11]