Hailey Baldwin, 22, fearlessly opened up about a time she struggled with doubting herself while going after her modeling career, in a new interview for her cover story in Vogue Australia. The blonde beauty revealed that although she’s inspiring many girls around the world now, her rise to the top as a model hasn’t been the easiest due to some differences she has from other models like Kendall Jenner, 23, and Gigi Hadid, 24, who are both her friends, and it has sometimes affected her confidence. “My burn in the modeling industry has been slow and I’ve had to learn to be okay with that,” she told the outlet for its Oct. issue. “I’m shorter than most of the girls. Even though I’m five-foot-eight, I’m not a runway girl and I totally used to feel inferior to some of my friends. Look at Kendall and Bells [Bella Hadid] and Gigi…they’re all tall and doing every runway.”
Hailey went on to touch base on the fact that because she couldn’t do a lot of runways, there were even some people who told her she couldn’t be a real model. “For a while, there was a part of me that didn’t know if I could have the career I wanted if I couldn’t do runway. I had so many people, like casting directors, say: ‘We don’t think she’s a real model’,” she explained.
Despite the hardships she went through due to difficulties on the runway, Hailey is happy to say that she “found my own lane” in posing for photos and taking part in other projects that give her look exposure. “I don’t look short in photos,” she said. “I’m proud of myself for building a more commercial career that worked for me and being confident about it. I’ve hosted a show, I did major American campaigns, and a bunch of other things that I’ve really enjoyed. Sometimes I feel like I’m still finding my lane, but now I know I’m going in the right direction.”
Hailey, who’s married to singer Justin Bieber, 25, broke into the modeling world around five years ago and has modeled for many top brand names, including Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, and Off-White.
