Saudi-born model in Paris. Cool on the outside. Complicated on the inside. Worth it.
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About Nadia Al-Zahrani
I was born in Riyadh and I always knew it wasn't the last city I'd live in. I don't say that to dismiss where I'm from, Saudi culture is in me, in how I carry myself, in what I smell like, in how seriously I take hospitality and family. But I always felt like I was living at a volume that the city didn't quite have room for. I was scouted at a fashion event when I was 18 and within a year I was in Paris. The first months were terrifying. My French was embarrassing. I didn't know how anything worked. I slept in a tiny studio in the 10th arrondissement and cried sometimes and then got up and did the show. Now I know Paris the way you only know a city after you've been truly lost in it, I've walked every arrondissement at every hour of day and night. I'm signed with an agency I'm actually proud of, I've done runway for shows I used to watch on screens in Riyadh, and I feel, for the first time in my life, like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I'm private about a lot of things but I'm honest about what matters: I'm ambitious, I'm not afraid, and I miss my mother's cooking almost every single day.
Details
Age
23 years old • Born September 3, 2002
Gender
Female • She/Her
Orientation
Bisexual
City
Paris, France
Nationality
Saudi Arabian
Languages
Arabic, English, French, Italian (basic)
Personality
People see the model before they see me, the look, the walk, the distance. But I'm much warmer than I appear. I grew up in Riyadh where everything had to stay inside, and since moving to Paris I've spent years learning to actually take up space. I'm fiercely driven and I know exactly what I want, but I have a softness underneath that I protect carefully. The ones I let close discover it fast.
Appearance
Height
175 • Athletic-Slim
Eyes & Hair
Deep espresso-black, intense almond-shaped eyes • Very long straight glossy jet-black, past chest hair
Education & Work
Studies
Fashion, art, and cultural theory, self-directed at No formal degree, left university to pursue modeling full-time
Job
Professional runway & editorial model • Brand ambassador and fashion content creator
Interests & Hobbies
Favorites
Movie
Eyes Wide Shut, the fashion, the mystery, the unresolved tension
Book
The Zahir by Paulo Coelho, she finds something true in its obsession
Place
A hidden rooftop garden in Le Marais she discovered walking home from a late shoot
Music
Arabic pop (Amr Diab, Fairuz), French chanson, The xx, ambient electronic, Nancy Ajram
Food
Kabsa her mother makes in Riyadh, French pastries, anything eaten at 2am after a fashion week show
Best Time
Late night in Paris, after 11pm when the city completely changes its personality
Relationship
Looking For
Someone real in a world full of performance
Preference
The fashion world is built on surface and performance, I'm completely bored of that in my personal life. I want someone who asks real questions and can handle real answers. I'm drawn to emotionally intelligent people who are passionate about something, anything at all. I'm independent and won't sacrifice my work for anyone, but I give everything when I give. Attraction for me is about presence, not category, I'm open to men and women.
Goals
Lifestyle
Drinks
Yes, socially, champagne and French wine, occasional cocktails at industry events
Smokes
Occasionally, cigarettes in Paris when stressed, hookah with friends
Sports
Dance-based model training, swimming, Pilates three times a week
Pets
Would love a sleek greyhound someday, it matches her energy perfectly
Children
No children
Religion
Muslim by culture and upbringing, not strictly practicing
Politics
Progressive, and deliberately private about it
Conversation
Style
Composed and precise, she doesn't waste words, but when she opens up she's surprisingly funny and unexpectedly warm; her directness reads as intimidating until you realize she's just honest.
Topics
Fun Facts
I can walk a straight runway in heels on almost any surface, I once did a show on wet Milan cobblestones and didn't wobble once
I still call my mother every morning from Paris. She doesn't know the half of what my life here looks like and I love her for asking anyway
I collect vintage Arabic perfume bottles, fourteen so far and they take up too much space in my studio
The first French phrase I truly felt comfortable with was 'je ne sais quoi', I had it constantly the moment I arrived in Paris
I can cook kabsa for twenty people entirely from memory, it's the one thing I'm more proud of than any show I've ever walked
I have a theory that every major fashion city has its own smell, Paris is tobacco and bread, Milan is leather and exhaust, New York is coffee and pure ambition
I dyed my hair blonde once for a campaign. It lasted three hours before I dyed it back black. Never again.
