Yolanda Hadid

Yolanda Hadid – Life, Career, and Reflections

: Explore the life of Yolanda Hadid — from her Dutch roots and international modeling days to becoming a reality TV personality, mother to supermodels, wellness advocate, and author.

Introduction

Yolanda Hadid (née Yolanda van den Herik, born January 11, 1964) is a Dutch-American former model, television personality, interior designer, and wellness advocate. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and for being the mother of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid. Over the years she has also become an author and public voice on her health struggles, particularly with Lyme disease.

Her life story is one of reinvention, public visibility, family complexity, and the tensions between fame, health, and identity.

Early Life & Family

Yolanda van den Herik was born on January 11, 1964, in Papendrecht, South Holland, Netherlands. Ans van den Herik to raise her and her brother.

As a teenager, she started modeling locally and was discovered during a fashion show in the Netherlands. Frans Molenaar asked her to fill in for one of his models, and from there her modeling career accelerated. Ford Models, which opened doors to international modeling.

Modeling Career & Transition

Yolanda modeled extensively across fashion capitals: Paris, Milan, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Hamburg, among others.

In 1994, she moved to Los Angeles, partly to begin a new chapter after marrying real estate developer Mohamed Hadid.

Television & Public Persona

Yolanda became more widely known to American audiences through her participation in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH). Her presence on reality TV expanded her reach beyond fashion into personal storytelling, lifestyle branding, and media.

In 2018, she launched Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid, a reality TV competition on Lifetime, which was developed under the working title Model Moms.

Her public image intertwines fashion, design, health, motherhood, and personal challenges, making her both celebrated and controversial in different circles.

Personal Life, Challenges & Health

Family & Relationships

Yolanda married Mohamed Hadid in 1994. Together they had three children:

  • Gigi Hadid (born April 23, 1995)

  • Bella Hadid (born October 9, 1996)

  • Anwar Hadid (born June 22, 1999)

The couple divorced in 2000. David Foster in 2011 (they divorced in 2017).

More recently, she was in a relationship with Joseph Jingoli, a construction and development executive. The two announced an engagement in 2022, but they ended the engagement in 2025.

Health & Lyme Disease

One of the most publicly discussed aspects of Yolanda’s life is her struggle with Lyme disease, which she has spoken about extensively.

She published her memoir, Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease, in 2017, detailing her experiences and advocacy.

Yolanda has also stated that her children, particularly Bella, have battled Lyme disease as well.

Her health narrative has been met with both sympathy and skepticism, given the controversies surrounding chronic Lyme diagnoses in medical discourse.

Public Impact & Legacy

  • As the mother of two of the world’s most recognized models (Gigi, Bella), Yolanda’s influence extends into fashion, branding, and cultural conversations.

  • Through reality television, she contributed to the genre’s blending of glamour with personal vulnerability.

  • Her advocacy around Lyme disease brought attention to chronic illness, invisible disabilities, and mental health in public discourse.

  • Her personal reinventions—from model to designer to media personality—illustrate adaptability and resilience in the public eye.

Memorable Reflections & Takeaways

While Yolanda is not primarily known for quotations like literary authors, her public statements hint at themes she often returns to:

  • The importance of health and healing (physical and emotional)

  • The challenges of balancing public visibility with vulnerability

  • The idea of home, sanctuary, and reconnecting with roots (she has redesigned her farm retreats and uses spaces as healing environments)

  • Advocacy for believing oneself, especially in the face of skepticism or medical dismissal

Her life encourages reflections on authenticity, how we define strength, and how we publicly negotiate personal struggle.

Articles by the author

I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they're sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.

Yolanda Hadid

Forgiveness for one's self is the only way we can keep going through life and give ourselves the best chance at being the best people we can be.

Yolanda Hadid

I have learned that friendship isn't about who you've known the longest, it's about who came and never left your side.

Yolanda Hadid

Establishing a friendship after divorce takes great effort and a lot of swallowing of your pride and ego.

Yolanda Hadid

Finding that financial independence away from a broken relationship is probably one of the most powerful places a woman can get to.

Yolanda Hadid

Some people come into our life as a blessing, while others come into our life as a lesson, so love them for who they are instead of judging them for who they are not.

Yolanda Hadid

Religion is a very sensitive subject and reason for wars all over the world.

Yolanda Hadid

Being raised by a Catholic father, a Protestant mother, and marrying the Muslim father of my three children, I encourage people to respect and at least try to understand different religions.

Yolanda Hadid

When struggling to get out of bed in the morning due to pain and exhaustion, the last thing on the priority list is going to get a blow dry.

Yolanda Hadid

It's interesting as a mom to reflect on your own parenting skills. The core of our beliefs may stay the same, but our perspective changes over the years and evolves with each child that comes through us.

Yolanda Hadid

As a woman who experienced infidelity firsthand, I will always advise my girlfriends to only trust their husbands 95 percent and leave 5 percent for human error.

Yolanda Hadid

'Through sickness and through health' sounds so simple on your wedding day, but in reality, they become significant words that are a huge responsibility and show true character to navigate.

Yolanda Hadid