Kiara Kabukuru


Alice 'Kiara' Kabukuru is an American fashion model of Ugandan descent. Kabukuru is best known as a CoverGirl model.

Background and discovery

Kabukuru was born in Kampala, Uganda. Although her grandparents emigrated from Rwanda to Uganda in 1920, she identifies as an Ankole. With the aid of Amnesty International and United Way, Kabukuru and her family emigrated to California when she was a child due to political unrest in their native country. Kabukuru was discovered by fashion photographer Bill Bodwell in a Los Angeles shopping center when she was 16.

Career

Kabukuru has been represented by several of the world's top modeling agencies, including Women Management, Trump Model Management, and Why Not Model Agency., As of February 2011 she is represented by Silent models in New York and Paris. Kabukuru has walked for fashion houses including Dior, Versace, Calvin Klein, Chanel, and Balmain. Her most notable editorial work includes covers for Vogue and Amica Italy. She has posed for advertising campaigns by Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino, L'Oréal, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and most famously CoverGirl cosmetics.
She was featured in the Pirelli Calendar of 1998 and walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1999.

Personal life

Kiara's real name is Alice but this was changed at the suggestion of her then agent at Ford models to Kiara, as the agent felt it sounded more exotic