About

Originated from the Dinka tribe of southern Sudan, Alek Wek was born the seventh of nine children in Wau 1977. The civil war forced her to escape to London at the age of 14, where she learned English and went to the London School of Fashion.
In 1995 she was discovered by Model 1 scout Fiona Ellis at a party and gained first recognition with the help of Tina Turners music video ‘Golden Eye’. Already one Year later she appeared in the ‘‘Got ‘Till It’s Gone’’ music video of Janet Jackson.
Naturally and fresh, the african beauty embodied a new generation of fashion. Important designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Chanel and Valentino have chosen her for their defiles. That has named her ‘‘Model of the Year’’ by MTV in 1997, ‘’Model of the Decade’’ by i-D magazine and one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People’’. Since 1997 she appeared on covers of international trendsetting magazines such as ELLE, i-D magazine, German Vogue, Essence, British Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Her presence restored her to campaigns including Clinique, Joop, XOXO Jeans, Gap, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Jean Paul Gautier and Ralph Lauren. Alek has worked with the most famous photographers such as Michael Thompson, Steven Meisel, Mario Testino or Bruce Weber and she enriched the runways of Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, DKNY, Roberto Cavalli and nearly all famous designers.
Even the film industry kept an eye on her. In the film ‘’The Four Feathers’’ Wek was playing the Sudanese princess. In 2005 appeared her first handbag collection “Wek 1933’’ according to the birth of her departed dad.
In addition to modeling, acting and designing, Wek is involved with several health care organizations. She is a missionary for “World Vision’’ against AIDS, a member of “U.S. Committee for Refugees”, breast cancer research and charities that focus on the wellbeing of children.