Waris Dirie
Sign in to saveSomali model, author, actress, activist
AI overview
Waris Dirie is a Somali model, author, actress, and activist who has used her platform to raise awareness about female genital mutilation (FGM) and other human rights issues. Her work matters because she has brought international attention to these practices and advocated for their elimination, becoming a prominent voice for women's rights globally.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1964
- Works
- 15
Top works
- Peraḥ ha-midbar
- Wüstenblume
- Aube du Desert (l')
- Amanecer en el desierto
- Mijn Woestijn
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Writing
Known for
- Samia — Saado Abdullahi2024
- Poland's Next Top Model — Self - Special Guest2010
- Kulturplatz — Self2004
- Abendschau — Self2000
- The Johannes B. Kerner Show — Self1998
via TMDB
Article
Waris Dirie (Somali: Waris Diiriye; born 21 October 1965) is a Somali model, author, actress and human rights activist in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM). From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special ambassador against FGM. In 2002 she founded her own organization in Vienna, the Desert Flower Foundation. She has won numerous awards recognizing her work on eradicating FGM, including the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (2007).
Born in Somalia, she moved to London where she began her modeling career. She was a model for top brands such as Chanel, Levi's, L'Oréal and Revlon. As a model, Dirie was the first black woman to appear in an Oil of Olay advertisement. In 1987, Dirie played a minor role in the James Bond film The Living Daylights.
Gallery (2)
Connections
Categories
1965 births20th-century Austrian novelists20th-century Somalian women writers20th-century Somalian writers21st-century Austrian novelists21st-century Somalian women writers21st-century Somalian writersAustrian female modelsAustrian film actressesAustrian women activistsAustrian women novelistsAustrian women's rights activists