The character arc of Winnie Harlow
Born 27 July 1994 in the Toronto area as Chantelle Brown-Young. Between then and now sit a childhood diagnosis of vitiligo, years of bullying that pushed her out of school, being seen on Instagram by Tyra Banks, a run on America's Next Top Model, the runways and campaigns of the world's fashion houses, the first Victoria's Secret show and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit to feature a model with vitiligo, the suncare brand Cay Skin, and a children's book. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Winnie Harlow?
The bullied girl who walked the world's runways.
She was born Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young in the Toronto area in 1994, and at the age of four she was diagnosed with vitiligo, a condition in which the skin loses its pigment in patches. As a child she was bullied for the way she looked, so badly and for so long that she left school before finishing, and she has spoken since about how hard those years were. Her difficulty, she has said, was never with her own skin but with the way other people treated her because of it.
She began posting her modelling online, and it was there that Tyra Banks found her and brought her onto America's Next Top Model in 2014. She did not win, but the exposure opened the industry to her. Over the following years she walked for and fronted campaigns with major fashion houses, became a face the public recognised, and in 2018 became the first model with vitiligo to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In 2020 she became the first with vitiligo to appear in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
She turned the platform into more than a career. In 2022 she founded Cay Skin, a suncare brand made with sensitive and uneven skin in mind, and in 2026 she published a children's picture book about a girl learning to be herself. Her line is worth reading because it starts with a child told she was wrong to look the way she did, and reaches a woman who made that same difference the thing the world came to see, and who now tells other children they were right about themselves all along.
The moments
Winnie Harlow's timeline.
The 1990s
Born near Toronto
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Born Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young in the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada.
Diagnosed with vitiligo
Milestone, and it changed her direction. At the age of four she was diagnosed with vitiligo, a condition in which the skin loses its pigment in patches.
The 2010s
Left school after bullying
Setback, and it changed her direction. Bullied for years over the way she looked, she left school before finishing, a period she has spoken about openly since.
Model as she is
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: show her skin openly, taken, or stay out of view. She stepped forward, and within a few years walked the runways and covers of the world's fashion houses, becoming a face people knew for exactly what set her apart.
Discovered on Instagram
Milestone, and it changed everything. She posted her modelling online, where Tyra Banks saw her and reached out, opening the door to the industry.
America's Next Top Model
Milestone. She competed on Cycle 21 of America's Next Top Model, placing sixth, and the exposure put her name in front of the world.
First major campaign
Milestone. She began fronting campaigns for major fashion labels and appearing on magazine covers, building a career on being visibly different.
First Victoria's Secret show
Milestone, and it changed everything. She became the first model with vitiligo to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, one of the most watched runways in the world.
The 2020s
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
Milestone. She became the first model with vitiligo to feature in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
Founded Cay Skin
Milestone, and it changed everything. She founded Cay Skin, a suncare brand made with sensitive and uneven skin in mind, moving from the front of the industry to owning a part of it.
Published a children's book
Milestone. She published Simply Winnie, a children's picture book about a girl learning to be herself, carrying her own story to the next generation.
The line reaches today still going, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is already out there: the campaigns and covers that put a face with vitiligo where one had never been, and every child who saw her and understood that different was never the same as wrong.
In her words
Quotes by Winnie Harlow
I didn't have a problem with myself or my skin. I had a problem with the way people treated me because of my skin.
I really love that through my career I've been able to just be myself, and through being myself, it allows other people to feel comfortable being themselves.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
Hers is three decades in and still being drawn. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about three minutes.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Winnie Harlow, verified 16 September 2026 (no death date; last updated 13 August 2026).
- Penguin Workshop and Kirkus Reviews, on the children's picture book Simply Winnie, published 2 June 2026.
- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Winnie Harlow model profile and galleries.
- Models.com, Winnie Harlow model profile and news.
- Cay Skin, cayskin.com, on the brand she founded in 2022.
- Her own interviews on growing up with vitiligo, bullying and self-acceptance.
- Winnie Harlow, in interviews on growing up with vitiligo.
- Winnie Harlow, 2026 interview.