Adwoa Aboah

Adwoa Aboah – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes


Adwoa Aboah is a British model, actress, and mental health advocate. From covering Vogue to founding Gurls Talk, her story blends fashion, activism, vulnerability, and resilience.

Introduction

Adwoa Aboah (full name Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah, born May 18, 1992) is a British fashion model, actor, and activist. Though she first gained recognition on the runway and in editorial work, she is now equally known for her openness about mental health, her platform Gurls Talk, and her efforts to expand what beauty and influence look like in modern media.

She stands out not only for her striking presence in fashion but also for bringing conversations about depression, addiction, identity, and community into mainstream cultural spaces—crafting a narrative that beauty and struggle need not be mutually exclusive.

Early Life and Family

Adwoa was born in Westminster, London, England. Charles Aboah, is Ghanaian, and her mother, Camilla Lowther, is British, working in the fashion industry as a talent agent and photo agent. Kesewa Aboah, who is also a model.

On her mother’s side, she is part of the Lowther family, with ties to British nobility—her maternal great-grandfather was Anthony Lowther, Viscount Lowther. Adwoa is from Akan tradition (Ghanaian), meaning “born on Monday”—she was indeed born on a Monday.

She attended Millfield School and later studied Modern Drama at Brunel University, graduating in 2013.

Growing up straddling British and Ghanaian identities, and between fashion-industry influence and normal life, she has often spoken about feeling neither “white enough nor black enough” in her youth.

Career and Achievements

Rise in Fashion

Adwoa’s modeling career includes high-profile campaigns and runways:

  • She has modeled for major brands such as Calvin Klein, Fendi, DKNY, Alexander Wang, Kenzo, Versus (Versace), Topshop, Fenty x Puma, and Erdem.

  • She has appeared on the covers of British Vogue, American Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vogue Poland, and i-D.

  • In 2017, she was voted Model of the Year by

  • She has also served as a contributing editor at British Vogue.

Her fashion journey, however, is intertwined with her personal narrative—her public vulnerability has made her a different kind of model: one whose activism and identity are part of her brand.

Acting & Media

Adwoa has also ventured into acting and media:

  • In 2017, she played Lia in the film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.

  • She has appeared in TV series such as Top Boy and Willow.

Advocacy & Gurls Talk

Perhaps the most distinctive part of her work is Gurls Talk, which she founded in 2015. mental health, sexuality, identity, trauma, and recovery.

Her advocacy is grounded in her lived experience: she has spoken candidly about her struggles with depression, addiction, and a suicide attempt in 2015, which she survived after being in a coma for four days. Her recovery journey deeply informs her activism.

She has also initiated creative outreach projects—during the COVID-19 pandemic, she started #CreativeTogether, to help people cope by connecting through art.

Recent Ventures

As of recent reporting (2025), she’s expanding into entrepreneurship: she co-founded a luxury handbag brand called The Veil with designer Georgie Wright, combining fashion and creative vision with her activist roots.

She also recently became a mother—her daughter, Shy Trinity Afua Wheatley, was born in August 2024.

Historical & Cultural Context

  • Adwoa’s rise came during a time when the fashion world was under increasing scrutiny for lack of diversity—her mixed-race identity and vocal stance helped she and others push for broader representation.

  • Her platform challenges the convention that models should appear flawless and untroubled, instead showing that vulnerability can coexist with influence.

  • Her blending of fashion, media, activism, and entrepreneurship reflects a shift in the role of public figures: they no longer just “represent,” but often engage in public discourse around mental health, identity, and inclusion.

Legacy and Influence

Even though she is still young and active, Adwoa Aboah’s legacy is already forming in several ways:

  • Reframing representation: She is part of a generation of models who defy beauty norms—celebrating freckles, red hair, visible imperfections, and diverse backgrounds.

  • Mental health visibility: Her candidness about her struggles helps normalize conversations about depression, addiction, and recovery—especially among youth.

  • Community building: Through Gurls Talk and its events, she has built safe spaces for sharing and collective healing.

  • Creative leadership: Her move into brand building (The Veil) suggests she will shape fashion beyond modeling, on her own terms.

Her combination of artistry, activism, and authenticity positions her as a modern role model for socially conscious celebrity.

Personality, Strengths & Style

Adwoa’s public voice reveals key traits and values:

  • Honesty & vulnerability: She does not shy away from discussing dark periods or imperfections.

  • Resilience: Her survival through serious mental health challenges—and transformation into an advocate—shows deep inner strength.

  • Empathy & community orientation: She consistently emphasizes collective healing, listening, and connection.

  • Creative vision: Her aesthetic choices (hair, makeup, styling) often resist convention, embracing uniqueness over conformity.

  • Courage in risk: She has chosen to voice causes she believes in, even when they may not be “safe” in terms of public image.

In terms of modeling, she blends high fashion with alternative edge—her image often balances rawness and elegance.

Famous Quotes of Adwoa Aboah

Here are several notable quotations attributed to Adwoa Aboah, which reflect her philosophy and lived experience:

  • “Mental health isn’t all of me, but it’s a massive part of my journey and a massive part of my whole being.”

  • “There are times when you're being judged on your appearance and you're not feeling your best self. It hurts, but as I always say, I try and be 100 percent myself all the time. So if I’m rejected, it just hurts that little bit less because at least I was myself.”

  • “A sexy selfie can be incredibly empowering – but remember that, while a Snapchat message might expire, nothing on the Internet truly disappears.”

  • “With modeling, social media is such a humongous part of it now. You get jobs because of the amount of followers you have.”

  • “How can our industry better represent the reality of our larger community and provide our next generation a proper example of what they see around them every single day?”

  • “I think if you don't like being in your skin, it doesn't matter how many times people say you're beautiful… I just didn’t want to be Adwoa.”

  • “I know what my causes are. And I care about them, so I’d rather get out there and talk about them than just play it safe.”

  • “‘Vogue’ should be about giving a voice to all different cultures.”

These quotes capture themes of identity, representation, authenticity, vulnerability, and responsibility.

Lessons from Adwoa Aboah

Adwoa’s life and public journey offer several powerful lessons:

  1. Vulnerability can become strength
    By speaking openly about mental health and addiction, she transforms what many see as weakness into a tool for connection.

  2. Representation matters—not just in looks, but in voice
    She challenges industries to include multiplicity: bodies, skin tones, backgrounds, and experiences.

  3. You don’t have to conform to succeed
    Her success demonstrates that non-traditional beauty and personal truth can resonate widely.

  4. Healing often involves giving back
    Her foundation in community (through Gurls Talk) shows how personal suffering can seed social impact.

  5. Sustainability in influence
    Her shift into entrepreneurship and creative practice shows that one can evolve beyond a single identity (model) into multifaceted work.

  6. Identity is intersectional and evolving
    Her Ghanaian-British identity, struggles with race and belonging, and her creative reinventions reflect how identity is not fixed but grows.

Conclusion

Adwoa Aboah is more than a model; she is a cultural force. Her career spans fashion, film, activism, community-building, and entrepreneurship. Her public story is as much about struggle as it is about style—and that duality is part of her power.

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