Anok Yai

Early life

Anok Yai was born on 20 December 1997 in Cairo, Egypt, to a Dinka Christian family who had fled genocide in Sudan. At three years old she moved with her family to Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States, where her mother worked as a nurse and her father for the disability-services organisation Easterseals. Her sister, Alim, later became both her manager and financial adviser.

Yai attended Manchester High School West and went on to study biochemistry at Plymouth State University, intending to become a physician — a path modelling would interrupt before she finished the degree.

Discovery and a historic Prada opening

In October 2017, photographer Steve "theSUNK" Hall photographed Yai during homecoming week at Howard University. The picture drew more than 20,000 likes on Instagram and, within days, interest from major agencies including IMG Models; she signed with Next Model Management after the agency pursued her for several weeks.

Four months later, Yai opened a Prada show — becoming the first Sudanese model to do so, and the first Black model to open for the house in twenty years, since Naomi Campbell in 1997. "This is bigger than me," she said of the booking. "Me opening for one of the top fashion houses is a statement to the world — especially for Black women — that their beauty deserves celebration."

Building a career, 2018–2021

The Prada booking opened the runway to her quickly: within a year Yai had walked for Versace, Max Mara, Fendi, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, and appeared in advertising for Tiffany & Co., Nike (with a campaign designed by Riccardo Tisci), Hood by Air and Ambush. In July 2018 she was named a spokesmodel for Estée Lauder, and that December she fronted Alexander Wang’s "Collection 1" Drop 2 campaign.

Editorial work followed at a similar pace, with credits across multiple international editions of Vogue, W Magazine, CR Fashion Book, Harper’s Bazaar, i-D and Elle. In 2019 she appeared alongside Adut Akech and Alton Mason in the Chanel–Pharrell Collection short film.

Recognised as a supermodel, 2022–2023

In February 2022, Yai appeared on the cover of British Vogue as part of an all-Black modelling cast, and that September she featured on W Magazine’s 50th-anniversary cover — a booking the industry read as formal recognition of her supermodel status. The same year brought Steven Meisel–shot campaigns for Max Mara and Alexander McQueen, and a Mario Sorrenti–shot Loro Piana campaign.

2023 was denser still: a Vogue tribute to Karl Lagerfeld photographed by Annie Leibovitz, covers for Vogue Spain and Vogue Italia, the opening slot at Mugler’s inaugural runway show during Paris Fashion Week, and a widely noted appearance at the Met Gala in custom Prabal Gurung. In December 2023, Models.com named her Model of the Year in both its Industry Vote and Reader’s Choice categories.

Recent record, 2024–2026

In 2024, Yai walked the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall/Winter show at Paris Fashion Week and became the face of Mugler’s Alien Hypersense fragrance. In December 2025, the British Fashion Council named her Model of the Year, and in 2026 she was named to Time’s 100 Most Influential People list — recognition that extends beyond the fashion trade press into the mainstream.

Her current Index Rating pillars — runway, campaigns and editorial — are built on this same run: 2026 haute couture bookings at Balenciaga, Chanel and Schiaparelli, campaigns for Gucci and Chanel, and editorial credits in British Vogue and Vanity Fair, detailed in the evidence section below.

Why is Anok Yai ranked #1?

• Opened and closed Balenciaga Haute Couture on 8 July 2026; walked Chanel and Schiaparelli couture.
• Gucci Monte Carlo and Chanel pre-fall campaigns; British Vogue and Vanity Fair editorial credits in 2026.
• Fashion Awards Model of the Year, 2025.

Confidence: High confidence · evidence reviewed. Scores may change when a source is corrected or new work enters the current window.