Katie Meade

Last updated
Katie Meade
Born (1983-05-18) May 18, 1983 (age 41)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationModel
Modeling information
Height4 ft 10 in (147 cm) [1]
Hair colorblack
Eye colorbrown [1]

Kathryn "Katie" Meade [2] (born 18 May 1983) is an American model, widely considered to be "the first model with Down syndrome to become the face of a beauty campaign." [3] [4] [5] [6] [2] [7] [8]

Contents

Meade was born in Des Moines, Iowa in a family of three female children [1] to Tom and Becky Meade. [9] She experienced many health problems [10] ever since early childhood, being diagnosed with Down syndrome and having undergone two open heart surgeries. [3] Meade attended mainstream classes at Herbert Hoover High School, [7] where she reports having been bullied by other students due to her condition. [8] [2] [3] While in high school, she joined Best Buddies International. [7] It was while working as an ambassador for the organization that she was approached by Beauty and Pin-Ups to become the face of their 2016 "Fearless" range, [2] thus becoming the first model with Down syndrome to front a beauty campaign.

In addition to being a model, Meade has also participated in the Special Olympics, winning the gold medal for the balance beam in Raleigh at the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [1] Four years later, at the 2003 World Games in Dublin, she introduced U2's performance. [1] During her career, she has befriended many famous people, most notably Rob Lowe and Tom Brady. [9] [4] When Meade was hit by a car in October 2016, the NFL star sent her a video message, wishing her full recovery. [7]

As of 2017, she works as Office Generalist at the Polk County Treasurer's Office. [7] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cosmopolitan</i> (magazine) American fashion and culture magazine

Cosmopolitan is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, since 1965, has become a women's magazine. Cosmopolitan is one of the best-selling magazines. Jessica Giles is the magazine's editor-in-chief since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Price</span> English television personality, model, and singer (born 1978)

Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis "Katie" Price is an English media personality, model, and author. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her glamour modelling work, billed under the pseudonym Jordan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alek Wek</span> South Sudanese-British model and designer

Alek Wek is a South Sudanese-British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but fled to Britain in 1991 to escape the civil war in Sudan. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Gisele Bündchen Brazilian fashion model (born 1980)

Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian model and activist. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the top spot on Forbes top-earning models list in 2012. In 2014, she was listed as the 89th-most-powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miranda Kerr</span> Australian model (born 1983)

Miranda May Kerr is an Australian model. She rose to prominence in 2007 as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. Kerr was the first Australian Victoria's Secret model and also represented the Australian department store chain David Jones. She has launched her own brand of organic skincare products, KORA Organics, and has written a self-help book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Holmes</span> American actress (born 1978)

Kate Noelle Holmes is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irina Shayk</span> Russian fashion model (born 1986)

Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova, known professionally as Irina Shayk, is a Russian fashion model. She received international recognition when she appeared as the first Russian model on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2022, the website Models.com placed her on their list of the New Supers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa Meade</span> American painter

Alexa Meade is an American installation artist best known for her portraits painted directly onto the human body and inanimate objects in a way that collapses depth and makes her models appear two-dimensional when photographed. What remains is "a photo of a painting of a person, and the real person hidden somewhere underneath." She takes a classical concept – trompe-l'œil, the art of making a two-dimensional representational painting look like a real three-dimensional space – and does the opposite, making real life appear to be a painting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Palvin</span> Hungarian model (born 1993)

Barbara Sprouse is a Hungarian model. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2016. In 2019, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel. She is also an Armani Beauty ambassador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robyn Lawley</span> Australian model

Robyn Lawley is an Australian model, writer, photographer and director. She has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Elle, and other publications. She has been outspoken in her support for size-inclusiveness in the fashion and modeling industry and led a boycott which compelled Victoria's Secret to make changes to their annual fashion show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Smalls</span> Puerto Rican model (born 1988)

Joan Smalls Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican model and television personality. In 2011, she became the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered Forbes magazine's "World's Highest-Paid Models" list for the first time, ranking at number eight with over $3 million in earnings, In January 2014, Smalls appeared on the "Return of the Supermodel" cover of American Elle. In 2012, Smalls was ranked the number #1 model in the world by Models.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Gordy</span> British actress (born 1976)

Sarah Gordy, MBE is a British actress who has Down syndrome. She is best known for her roles as Katie Thorne in The A Word and Ralph & Katie, Orlando Quine in Strike: The Silkworm, Lady Pamela Holland in the BBC TV series of Upstairs Downstairs, and Lucy Craddle in The Long Call. She has also acted in episodes of Call the Midwife, Holby City and Doctors. As well as these TV shows, she has acted in short films, radio dramas, commercials, and many theatre productions. In 2018 she became the first woman with Down syndrome to be made an MBE and the first person with Down syndrome to receive an honorary degree from a UK university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Willerton</span> British beauty pageant contestant and television personality

Amy Willerton is an English television host, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her work with ITV and winning the title of Miss Universe Great Britain 2013 and representing Great Britain at the Miss Universe 2013 pageant. She got her big modelling break when she was discovered by Katie Price as a teenager. She appeared on the reality TV competition series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2013 and finished in fifth place. In 2015, she was placed fourteenth in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women. In 2017, she placed fourth in Channel 4's The Jump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie J. Stone</span> American actress and writer (born 1986)

Katherine Evangeline "Katie" Johnson - Stone is an American actress and writer best known for her work on Shooter. She began her career as fine art model for photographer David LaChapelle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gigi Hadid</span> American model (born 1995)

Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid is an American fashion model and television personality. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Throughout her career, Hadid has made at least 50 appearances in international Vogue. Models.com ranks her as one of the "New Supers." Since 2017, Hadid has been one of the highest-paid models in the world, earning $20 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Hill (model)</span> American model (born 1996)

Taylor Marie Hill is an American model. A former Victoria's Secret Angel, she appeared in the brand's annual fashion show from 2014 to 2018. She has worked for brands including Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, and Carolina Herrera. She has also appeared in magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baddiewinkle</span> American Internet personality (born 1928)

Helen Elam Van Winkle, better known as Baddiewinkle or Baddie Winkle, is an American Internet personality. Elam was born in Hazard, Kentucky. She became an Internet sensation at the age of eighty-five. Her social media tag line—"Stealing Your Man Since 1928"—was briefly popular in 2016. She is known for her humor and for fighting against ageism through her personal style and messaging, characterized by wearing eccentric clothes, promoting the legalization of medical marijuana, and her innuendo. Winkle is an activist and influencer whose self expression is a statement of disapproval of the beauty industry and the false limitations it imposes on individuals, and especially on women. She has millions of followers and views on social media, where she posts photos and videos of herself, often with suggestive clothing with peculiar prints, or little clothing in order to encourage body positivity and the celebration of the physiques of older adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie Harlow</span> Canadian fashion model

Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young, known professionally as Winnie Harlow, is a Canadian fashion model and public spokesperson on the skin condition vitiligo. She gained prominence in 2014 as a contestant on the 21st cycle of the U.S. television series America's Next Top Model. In 2018, Harlow became the first model with vitiligo to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She also appeared in the Beyoncé-directed HBO visual album Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016). She was honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in 2018. Harlow later served as a judge on the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series Making the Cut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iskra Lawrence</span> British model (born 1990)

Iskra Arabella Lawrence is a British model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Kim</span> Korean-American model and television personality

Irene Kim, also known by her online alias Ireneisgood, is an American model, beauty and fashion journalist, and television personality based in New York City. In 2018, Kim released her clothing brand IRENEISGOOD LABEL.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Katie Meade is Fearless". beautyandpinups.com. February 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Berkey, Tasina. "As A Child, They Put Gum In Her Hair. But Now, She's The Face Of A Unique Beauty Campaign". littlethings.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Young, Sarah (12 June 2017). "Katie Meade: Meet the Model with Down's Syndrome That's Changing the Face of Beauty". Independent.co.uk. The Independent . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 Ruffo, Jillian (1 April 2016). "Meet Katie Meade, the First Woman with Down Syndrome to Be Featured as the Face of a Beauty Product". people.com. People . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  5. Beck, Laura (2 April 2016). "Meet the First Model With Down Syndrome to Be Featured as the Face of a Beauty Campaign". cosmopolitan.com. Cosmopolitan . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. Walano, Rose (12 April 2016). "Meet the First Model With Down Syndrome to Land a Beauty Campaign". usmagazine.com. US Magazine . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Finney, Daniel P. (3 February 2017). "Meet the other model in Tom Brady's life: Iowa's Katie Meade". desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Model With Down Syndrome Challenges Beauty Stereotypes". Born Different. Season 5. Episode 6. 1 June 2017. Barcroft TV . Retrieved 13 November 2017.{{cite episode}}: External link in |network= and |season= (help)
  9. 1 2 Chandler, Reid (9 April 2016). "Des Moines Woman with Down Syndrome Featured as Face of Beauty Campaign". whotv.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  10. Mosbergen, Dominique (5 April 2016). "Special Olympian Katie Meade Becomes First Model With Down Syndrome To Land Beauty Campaign". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. "Katie Meade On Being Fearless". beautyandpinups.com. May 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.