northern light

HEIGHT 5’11” BIRTHDATE June 6, 1993 BIRTHPLACE Stockholm, Sweden

Health & beauty editor Katherine snapped gorg Swede model Frida for Model Citizen

Long before she scored a mega-gig as the face of Maybelline New York, Frida Gustavsson had dreams of becoming a professional trackand-field athlete. Although she was “discovered” in a local IKEA at 12 and swapped sports for style at 14, her big break came a few years later, when she opened the Valentino Couture fall/winter 2009 show in Paris. Since then, it has been a fashion whirlwind. See: the Dior and Victoria’s Secret catwalks and campaigns for Joe Fresh and Prada.

The glamour of Gustavsson’s career hasn’t gone to her (gorgeous) head. She loves going to Africa—the Congo, Kenya, Namibia and Morocco—at least every six months to “get away and stay in a little souk somewhere up in the mountains.” Why such an affinity with the continent? “It’s another way of life, and it’s very inspiring,” she explains. “In fashion, you can get caught up in having a driver or flying first class. People there have so little, but they give so much.” ■