Gigi and Bella Hadid’s Mom to Host Modeling Show
Yolanda Hadid is no longer a Real Housewife, but she’s not going anywhere. The mother of models Gigi and Bella Hadid has landed her own reality television show, tentatively titled Model Moms.
The upcoming Lifetime series will feature Yolanda Hadid guiding aspiring models and their “momager” mothers through an eight-week program “focused on the physical, mental, and emotional wellness that it takes to build a sustainable brand.” Each week, the women will compete for $5,000, and the winner will receive a contract with Hadid’s company and possible representation by IMG Models.
Hadid has the business chops — as a Ford model, she spent 15 years working in Paris, Milan, and New York — and as the mother of Gigi, 21, and Bella, 20, she reportedly worked overtime to shape their images while also keeping them grounded. “That they were not allowed to work until they were 17, until they knew who they are,” Hadid told Allure about how she set limits for her ambitious children. “I was 16 when I got started, but I needed to work. It is a different situation for them. I took each of them on their 17th birthday and found them an agency that was right for them. It ended up being the same agent for both — IGM. And I told them to work hard.”
The mom added that she had a “five-year-plan” for Gigi, despite her daughter’s sudden fame, and advised Bella to be patient. “It was just being in the right place at the right time,” Hadid told Allure. “And that’s what I always tell my girls. They might be looking for a blond all-American — well, Bella, that’s not the time for you. But if this is what they are looking for right now, you’ll hit it out of the park. And so she is.”
In February, Hadid announced that her 17-year-old son, Anwar, had joined IMG as a model — #Summerjobscomingup,” she hashtagged the news on Instagram.
Hadid also played a prominent role in her daughters’ daily lives. According to Page Six, she was on set during Gigi’s 2012 Guess shoot, advising the director and overseeing Gigi’s poses — even instructing the photographer to pause because her daughter’s eyes looked “funny.” And in 2014, when Gigi posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, Hadid shared her pride in a controversial tweet that read, “This is why @GigiHadid chose to have a small bite of her cake, and I supported her by example,” alongside a photo of bikini-clad Gigi.
??This is why @GiGiHadid choose 2 have a small bite of her cake and I supported her by example #dedicated #committed pic.twitter.com/uNJBSBm3Dx
— YOLANDA (@YolandaHFoster) February 18, 2014
When Bella, then 17, got arrested for a DUI, Hadid was equally candid on her Bravo blog, writing, “I raised her as a single mom most of her life, so I immediately started to take it personally, blaming myself and doubting my parenting skills. I decided to take her phone away, make her pay for her own lawyer bills from her savings, and we sold her car.”
While there have been plenty of modeling reality shows — Make Me a Supermodel, Model Employee, The Agency, The Beautiful Life — none have held up to Tyra Banks’ America’s Next Top Model . Despite inconsistent ratings, network-hopping, and cast shakeups (after departing in June, Tyra Banks announced that she will be replacing Rita Ora as host), it is surprisingly still relevant, even after 14 years on the air.
Despite living in the age of instant social media fame, we have high hopes for Model Moms — especially if Bella and Gigi are judges.
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