Liya Kebede Quotes
-
The most inspiring piece of advice I've gotten is simply to persevere. My mom taught me to always keep going no matter what from an early age. When it feels too difficult to push forward, I always remind myself, 'This too shall pass,' and then I redouble my efforts.
-
The desert loves me. I love the desert. It's nice to be in the heat in Africa. I love it.
-
I actually started modeling in Ethiopia, because that's where I grew up, and I started out by just doing little fashion shows for school, and I liked it so much that I started pursuing it.
-
I never thought modeling would become my career. I thought it was something I'd do to pay my way through college.
-
I want to do action, romantic comedy, and I love drama.
-
I grew up watching films. Film has been part of my life since I was a child.
-
I've been told the best way to make a sexy face is to say 'pruuune.'
-
When a woman has her first child in places like Africa, they're really young. They can be 12, 13,14, so their frames are really small, and they're usually malnourished.
-
I don't think we should judge celebrities for doing charity work. Period. Whatever their reasons for doing it, they are shedding light on issues that would otherwise go unnoticed.
-
It's not just Ethiopia, but Africa in general - most of the media concentrates on what's not going well. But there is so much beauty there. When you go, it changes everything. It changes you, your life, and the way you see things. The challenge is changing the image of Africa that's been anchored in people for years now.
-
There's a saying in Africa: 'To find out you are pregnant is to have one foot in the grave.'
-
In 1967, the world health community launched a global effort to eradicate smallpox. It took a coordinated, worldwide effort, required the commitment of every government, and cost $130 million dollars. By 1977, smallpox had disappeared.
-
It's one thing to donate money. It's a whole other thing to give an opportunity for someone to make his own money.
-
We can't end poverty if we fail to save the lives of our world's mothers.
-
It's very difficult to hand someone your whole life story to play, and you've never really met that person.
-
I am always touched when friends make contributions to my foundation on my behalf.
-
When our mothers are alive and healthy, they do extraordinary things... like the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who marched in Argentinean plazas, defying the military junta dictatorship and demanding the whereabouts of their abducted children... or the Liberian mothers who faced down civil war armed only with T-shirts and courage.
-
Traveling around Ethiopia, I saw dozens of abandoned textile factories. People kept asking me to help them find work. So I thought I could make use of my experience in fashion to commercialize their products outside of Ethiopia.
-
Take good care of your skin and hydrate. If you have good skin, everything else will fall into place.
-
I can contribute, be valuable, and grow in many ways, since my interests are so varied. That is very satisfying.
-
It's always a tricky thing, trying to make aid sustainable.
-
I'm Christian. Growing up in Ethiopia, it's half-Christian and half-Muslim. You grow up with Muslim kids. I'm very much aware of their religion.
-
One thing modeling taught me is that the spotlight can change everything.
-
Children with healthy mothers are much more likely to survive childhood, attend school and live healthy, productive lives.