Current index status
#7 in the live index.
The rating reflects current verified work and prestige weighting. It is an editorial assessment, not a judgement of personal worth.
Index Rating · Medium confidence · evidence reviewed
93.1
- Runway · 40%
- 93
- Campaigns · 30%
- 94
- Editorial · 20%
- 93
- Cultural aura · 10%
- 91
01 / Why they matter
What Mona is known for.
A breakout star of the 2019 season.
02 / Career record
Early life
Mona Tougaard was born on 3 April 2002 in Aarhus, Denmark, to a father who is half-Turkish and half-Danish and a Somali-Ethiopian mother, who died when Tougaard was nine. She has two older siblings from her mother’s previous marriage. She was scouted in Aarhus at twelve and, at fifteen, won the Danish round of the Elite Model Look competition before advancing to the global final.
03 / Career record
Runway debut and breakout, 2019
Tougaard’s professional career began as a Prada exclusive in 2019, the season Models.com named her a "top newcomer" and "Breakout Star" in its Model of the Year Awards; Vogue reported that she "swept Paris Fashion Week, landing nearly all the city’s key shows" that year. She also appeared in Prada’s advertising short "Anatomy of Romance," directed by Willy Vanderperre.
04 / Career record
Cover credits and campaign growth, 2021–2023
Tougaard covered British Vogue in April 2021 and Vogue Italia that August, followed by a Vogue France cover alongside Ugbad Abdi in August 2022 and further British and French Vogue covers in 2023. Her runway workload grew alongside the cover credits: roughly 39 shows in Fall/Winter 2023 and 22 in Spring/Summer 2024, for houses including Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Valentino, Miu Miu, Versace, Burberry and Saint Laurent — she has also closed Lanvin’s show.
05 / Career record
Recent record, 2024–2025
In 2024, Tougaard appeared in Chanel’s "Watches and Fine Jewelry Holiday" advertising short and starred in FKA Twigs’s "Perfect Stranger" video, and was nominated for Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards. In May 2025, Models.com added her to its "New Supers" list, and that year she took a lead role in the Alice Winocour–directed film Couture and appeared in Doja Cat’s "Gorgeous" video.
Her current Index Rating reflects continued high-tier runway work in the current window, most recently a place on Models.com’s Model of the Year shortlist and a Best Street Style industry win, detailed in the evidence section below.
06 / At a glance
Quick facts.
- —Scouted at twelve in her hometown of Aarhus; Elite Model Look Denmark winner at fifteen
- —Runway debut as a Prada exclusive, 2019; Models.com "Breakout Star," 2019
- —Walked roughly 39 shows in a single season, Fall/Winter 2023
- —Named to Models.com’s "New Supers" list, May 2025
- —Fashion Awards Model of the Year nominee, 2024
- —Lead role in the film Couture, directed by Alice Winocour, 2025
07 / Current index evidence
Why is Mona Tougaard ranked #7?
- Models.com Model of the Year nominee and Best Street Style industry winner in 2025.
Confidence: Medium confidence · evidence reviewed. Scores may change when a source is corrected or new work enters the current window.
Facts on this page are drawn from public work records and industry press, and summarised in our own words. This is an independent editorial profile — it is not endorsed by the subject, their agencies, or the brands named. Last reviewed 2026-07-14. Corrections: desk@thecastindex.com.