Adwoa Aboah
Aboah at the 2019 British Fashion Awards
Born
Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah

(1992-05-18) 18 May 1992 (age 31)
Westminster, London, England[2]
Alma materBrunel University
Parent(s)Charles Aboah
Camilla Lowther
RelativesKesewa Aboah (sister)
Anthony Lowther, Viscount Lowther (great-grandfather)
Matilda Lowther (2nd cousin)
Modelling information
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Hair colourRed-brown
Eye colourBrown
Agency

Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah[3][4] (born 18 May 1992) is a British fashion model. In December 2017 she appeared on the cover of British Vogue.[5] She has also been on the cover of American Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vogue Poland, and i-D.[6][7][8] In 2017, the fashion industry voted her as Model of the Year for models.com.[9] She is the founder of Gurls Talk, a platform that provides resources and a safe space for young women and girls to discuss Mental Health.[10]

Early life and family

Adwoa Aboah was born in Westminster, London, England, to Charles Aboah and Camilla Lowther.[11] The name Adwoa means "born on Monday" (she was born on a Monday) in the Twi language of the Ashanti Region.[12]

The Lowther family, headed by the Earl of Lonsdale, are members of the British nobility. Aboah's maternal great-grandfather was Anthony Lowther, Viscount Lowther. Aboah is a second cousin of Matilda Lowther.[13] Her granduncle was James Lowther, 7th Earl of Lonsdale.[11] Her father was born and raised in Ghana, and immigrated to England.[14] Through him, she is related to the Ghanaian politician William Kwasi Aboah.

Both Aboah's parents are involved in the fashion industry, as a location scout and photography agent, respectively.[15][16][17] Her sister Kesewa Aboah is also a model. Educated at Millfield, Aboah later graduated from Brunel University in 2013, with a bachelor's degree in Modern Drama.[18]

Career

Adwoa Aboah on noughties fashion, Jeremy Scott and LA – LOVE 2017

At (5 ft 8)[19] Aboah has modelled for Calvin Klein, Fendi,[20] DKNY, Alexander Wang,[21] Theory, H&M,[22] Aldo,[23] Versus (Versace), Topshop,[24] Fenty x Puma,[25] Kenzo, Simone Rocha, and Erdem among others.[26][27][28][29][30][31] She was previously signed to The Lions but sued the agency for damages after they allegedly withheld $190,000 of her earnings.[32]

Outside of modelling, Aboah had performed some short-films and music videos and in 2017 she landed her first Hollywood role as Lia in the 2017 Hollywood adaptation of the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell.[33][34]

After her own personal struggles with sobriety and a concern over the lack of mental-health resources for young women, In 2017 Aboah launched an organisation for young women called Gurls Talk.[35][36][37] During the COVID-19 pandemic Aboah created the '#CreativeTogether' initiative, with the hope that creativity could be a way to connect people and combat some of the anxiety surrounding the lockdown.[38]

She was featured in a 2018 commercial for Revlon's PhotoReady Insta-Filter™ Foundation.[39] Aboah was named British GQ's 'Woman of the Year' for 2017.[40] In 2017, Aboah made $1 million in modeling contracts alone.[41] In 2018, she was listed on the list of top 50 female models by models.com.[42] and was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.[43] She is also a British Vogue contributing editor.[44] 2020 saw Aboah listed for the first time on the Powerlist of the most influential Black British people across all industries.[45]


Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2011 To Get Her Emily Mateo Film
2017 Ghost in the Shell Lia Film
2022 Willow Scorpia TV Series - 2 episodes
2022-2023 Top Boy Becks TV Series - 8 episodes

Personal life

Aboah has suffered from depression and drug addiction and is now sober.[46][47] She self-medicated with drugs from a young age due to depression and bipolar disorders.[19][46] She attempted suicide by overdose in 2015, at a rehab centre in London, which resulted in a four-day coma before recovering in a psychiatric hospital.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Adwoa Aboah - Model". MODELS.com.
  2. ^ "Adwoa Aboah - Births & Baptisms [1] - Genes Reunited".
  3. ^ "Adwoa Caitlin Maria ABOAH – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom.
  4. ^ "Adwoa Aboah". findmypast.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  5. ^ Theodosi, Natalie (7 November 2017). "Adwoa Aboah Fronts Edward Enninful's First Issue of British Vogue". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Girl Crush: Adwoa Aboah". Vogue (in Italian). 12 April 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  7. ^ "get the first look at i-D's female gaze issue! | read | i-D". i-D. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Ashley Graham, Liu Wen, and More Vogue March 2017 Cover Models' Beauty Secrets". Vogue. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Model of the Year Awards 2017 | models.com MDX". MODELS.com.
  10. ^ "Adwoa Aboah Isn't Afraid to Have the Hard Conversations". wmagazine.com. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Woman with great literary mind". Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. 11 January 2003. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Adwoa Aboah, Hailey Baldwin, Dilone And More... The Topshop Models Told Us What Their Names Mean To Them". Topshop. 18 September 2017.
  13. ^ "MATILDA LOWTHER". 5eleven Magazine. 12 February 2019. Industry wise I admire my cousin Adwoa Aboah for being a badass and speaking up about what she believes in.
  14. ^ "Adwoa Aboah felt "emotional" returning to Ghana for new Burberry campaign". www.iol.co.za.
  15. ^ "Camilla Lowther | #BoF500 | The Business of Fashion". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Location, Location, Location". Women's Wear Daily. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  17. ^ Branch, Kate (7 April 2018). "Adwoa Aboah Is Changing What a Supermodel Looks Like—One Fashion Campaign at a Time". Vogue.
  18. ^ "Adwoa Aboah opens up about feeling unattractive, drug addiction and her new mental health project". London Evening Standard. 20 July 2017.
  19. ^ a b "Everything you've always wanted to know about Adwoa Aboah". Vogue France (in French). 13 July 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  20. ^ "The Cultish Backstage Product Behind Fendi's Cool Girl Hair". Vogue. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  21. ^ Chia, Jessica. "Alexander Wang Is Bringing Back the Ultimate Throwback Tee". Allure. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  22. ^ "Adwoa Aboah has all her sisters with her | H&M CN". H&M. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  23. ^ "Aldo F/W 2014 (Aldo Shoes)". MODELS.com. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  24. ^ McCarthy, Lauren. "Lottie Moss, Lily Donaldson, Adwoa Aboah and More It Models Hit the Topshop Runway". W Magazine. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  25. ^ "A Look at Rihanna's Fenty for Puma Collection". The New York Times. 28 September 2016. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Kendall Jenner Calvin Klein Spring 2016 Campaign". Fashion Gone Rogue. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  27. ^ "The Lions". www.thelionsny.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Adwoa Aboah (top) in the Roberto Cavalli Fall/Winter 2016–17 Advertising Campaign". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Terrific Tulle and the Return of the Supers On Day 2 Of LFW". ELLE UK. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Simone Rocha Proves the Runway Has No Age Limit". Vogue. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  31. ^ Bennett, Elizabeth. "Meet The Model of the Moment: Adwoa Aboah". Grazia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  32. ^ "Adwoa Aboah Sues Modeling Agency Claiming She Wasn't Paid Nearly $190,000". Teen Vogue. 23 March 2018.
  33. ^ Desta, Yohana. "Get a Moody First Look at Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell". HWD. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  34. ^ "Adwoa Aboah". IMDb. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  35. ^ "About". Gurls Talk. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  36. ^ "Adwoa Aboah Is the Fashion Activist Our Industry Needs". ELLE. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Why Model Adwoa Aboah Has Girls Talking". Vogue. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  38. ^ Petter, Oliver (26 March 2020). "Adwoa Aboah launches #CopingTogether scheme to encourage creativity during lockdown". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  39. ^ revlon (12 February 2018). "Look Picture Perfect with Revlon's PhotoReady Insta-Filter™ Foundation – Revlon" – via YouTube.
  40. ^ Heaf, Jonathan (19 October 2017). "Adwoa Aboah: 'We've broken the ice, now it's about continuing to speak up – loudly'".
  41. ^ "Adwoa Aboah". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  42. ^ "Adwoa Aboah". MODELS.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  43. ^ "Meghan Markle puts Sinéad Burke on the cover of Vogue's September issue". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  44. ^ "Adwoa Aboah Debuts Column in British Vogue's January 2018 Issue". Teen Vogue. 6 December 2017.
  45. ^ Motune, Vic (29 October 2019). "Powerlist 2020 reveals Britain's most influential black people". Voice Online. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  46. ^ a b Dazed (27 April 2016). "Model Adwoa Aboah discusses battle with depression and drugs". Dazed. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  47. ^ a b "Vogue Cover Model Opens Up About Drug Addiction And Suicide Attempt". HuffPost. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.

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