The strict ‘Hadid method’: How Gigi and Bella’s mother turned her family into a multi-million dollar empire

Richard Williams, father of tennis players Venus and Serena, proudly says that the key to his daughters’ success was his own obsession to turn them into the stars they are today. In the 78-page plan he drew up before they were even born, he detailed things like their training routines, moving to a Los Angeles ghetto and a ban on dating or having dolls that might stimulate their maternal instincts and curb their development.

We do not know if she was inspired by the teachings of Williams, but the story is repeating itself with another renowned matriarch who has sought triumph for her offspring at any price. Changing the tennis courts for the fashion runways, Yolanda Hadid has managed to turn her daughters Gigi and Bella into the two most demanded and acclaimed models of our time – and her son is also on his way.

“Live to be approved by God, not the world.” This is how the businesswoman, who was born in a small village in the Netherlands and at 58 boasts a fortune of $45 million, defended herself on Instagram from the latest attacks that she has received from the public opinion. This summer a TikTok video entitled 5 Reasons Why Everyone Hates Yolanda Hadid, presenting some of her comments and behaviors that are potentially toxic and reprehensible, went viral. Some of the most striking episodes include her obsession with controlling Gigi’s weight to the point of denying her a small portion of her own birthday cake, or suggesting her to “have a couple of almonds and chew them really well” when the model complains about the weakness caused by fasting the entire day.

Regarding her younger sister, the creator of the video blames the matriarch for the different disorders that Bella has publicly confessed, among which are anorexia, depression and anxiety. In addition, Yolanda also experienced digital rage for letting her daughter have a nose job when she was 14, a decision she says she regrets. “I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors,” she told the US edition of Vogue magazine in March.

But the biggest controversy that Yolanda Hadid has faced took place a year ago, when she accused her ex-son-in-law, Zayn Malik, of having assaulted and harassed her. The former One Direction singer and father of Gigi’s only daughter categorically denied the accusation, but accepted the charges filed against him in exchange for a fine and his attendance to various anger management courses. After the scandal, Zayn was fired from his record label and his romantic relationship with Gigi ended.

But the figure of Yolanda, turned into an influencer herself with nearly four million followers on Instagram, has survived any altercation, becoming an aspirational model, a kind of CEO of a multimillion-dollar company, like Kris Jenner did before her with the Kardashian clan. She is so proud of the method that turned Gigi and Bella into two of the highest paid models in the world (with annual incomes of more than $18 million each) that in 2018 she starred in the docuseries Making a Model, where she acted as a mentor to young girls aspiring to replicate the success of her descendants. Television is a world Yolanda knows well: her rise to fame came when she participated in the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which was focused on the daily life of some of the richest and most powerful women in Los Angeles.

Born as Yolanda van den Herik, she moved to the United States when she was 16 years old after being discovered by Eileen Ford, founder of one of the most important modeling agencies in the world. The teenager went from washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant and supporting her family after the premature death of her father to walking the best runways for fifteen years. After a brief romance with singer Julio Iglesias in 1986, she married real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, the father of her three children, in 1994; a union that would last for six years. Then, in 2011, the influencer walked down the aisle again with singer and record producer David Foster, divorcing in 2015. According to People magazine, one of the causes of the breakup was Foster’s lack of support when Hadid contracted Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that impaired her ability to read, write and watch television.

Hadid, who currently shares her life with construction CEO Joseph Jingoli and participates in a talent show for models on Dutch television, has become one of the most visible faces of the disease and has even published a book sharing her experience. Her children Bella and Anwar also suffer from this autoimmune and chronic medical condition. The model even shares images of the intravenous treatment she receives to control the symptoms of the disease with her Instagram followers. Meanwhile, it would seem that the youngest of the siblings wants to prove that the “Hadid method” is also applicable to men’s fashion: at 23 and after being best known for his two-year romance with singer Dua Lipa, in 2022 his career has skyrocketed. In just a few months, Anwar has been the image of firms like Valentino and Versace, and he has appeared on the cover of the Middle Eastern version of GQ magazine.

“Before I had children I thought life was all about my career and making money to be financial independent, success was the measurement of my happiness and accomplishments,” reflected Hadid in a recent post. “Then I gave birth and learned about unconditional love and what an honor it is to raise these 3 extraordinary beings. (...) Without a manual to tell you how to do it, we learn as we go, making mistakes yet always striving to be the best mother to these amazing souls that came through me.”

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