Woman with vitiligo overcomes bullies to become a successful model

A woman with vitiligo who suffered years of cruel comments has finally realised her beauty to become a successful model.

Francesca Conti, 20, from Rome, Italy, was diagnosed with the skin condition when she was 14-years-old after a man noticed a white spot on her face.

Since then, her vitiligo – a long-term condition where pale white patches develop on the skin due to a lack of melanin - has continued to spread over her body leaving her with patches of skin that have lost their colour.

At first, the young model says that people would make cruel comments and she would often get stared at when out in public.

However, she quickly learned to ignore bullies who joked about her condition and instead decided to embrace it.

Despite not knowing much about vitiligo when she was first diagnosed, Conti says that she has discovered just how important it is for people to see different types of beauty.

“I kind of love it, it makes me unique, it makes me who I am,” she told the Mail Online.