Simply gorgeous! Katie Meade is officially the first model with Down Syndrome to land a beauty contract.
The 32-year-old inspirational speaker will be the face of the Fearless Hair Rescue Treatment from new haircare line Beauty & Pin-Ups.
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“I was excited, thrilled and happy [to be asked to front the campaign],” Meade tells Us Weekly. “I thought it would be a great experience to show others that people with disabilities have abilities and beauty belongs to everybody.”
Meade loves the Fearless Hair Rescue Treatment, “because that makes my hair so soft.” But even more importantly, she is thankful to the Beauty & Pin-Ups team for building up her confidence.
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“I’ve learned a lot of lessons [with this job],” says Meade, who is a global ambassador for Best Buddies International (a non-profit that creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities). “But I think the best lesson I’ve learned is that even though I have Down Syndrome, I still look beautiful. So I hope I can inspire others with disabilities that they can be beautiful as well. I have learned to be proud of who I am and others should, too.”
One person who is especially proud of Meade? Beauty & Pin-Ups CEO Kenny Kahn, who believes the rising model is the true definition of fearless. “Beauty is a massive industry and a daily ritual for everyone,” Kahn tells Us. “For decades brands have been communicating an airbrushed false sense of reality. And, the world has been starved for someone or something to come along and speak authentically about beauty. Our brand is one that celebrates confidence and freedom of expression, so our choice in having Katie be the face of Fearless Hair Rescue Treatment was a natural one, given that beauty belongs to everyone.”
If you want to see more of Meade in action, tune in to Global Beauty Masters on Thursday, April 14, on Discovery Life and on Monday, April 18, on TLC. Meade will be one of the presenters of the week’s Pin-Up Challenge.
