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You may remember Fatima Siad from “America’s Next Top Model.” She came into the competition with a powerful story to tell and placed third in her cycle.

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, to a Somali mother and a Somali-Ethiopian father, Siad’s parents divorced at a young age and her two sisters were killed by the Somali army during the civil war. She underwent female genital cutting when she was seven years old.

Since then, she’s done photo shoots for Essence, CosmoGirl, Ebony, Women’s Wear Daily, and Elle. She has a contract with the Swiss cosmetic company, Arbonne. And she’s walked the runway for Betsey Johnson at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2009/2010 and for Lublu K. Plastinina in Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010.

In an autobiographical essay she wrote for Orato.com titled Vulnerable Beauty: Finding My Voice, she spoke openly about female genital circumcision and her hopes for changing the practice to make it “less horrendous” for young girls.

Here she is modeling for collections by Catherine Malandrino, and Poleci.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.