Anok Yai has become one of the most influential models of her generation. Her journey from a viral photo at Howard University to opening Prada runways and being named Model of the Year reads like fashion folklore. Taylor Dome is a registered nurse, mental health advocate, and the wife of Twilight actor Taylor Lautner. Here is everything you need to know about Anok Yai in 2026.
The Discovery: How a Viral Photo Changed Everything
Anok Yai’s discovery story is one of the most widely told in recent fashion history. In 2017, while attending Howard University’s homecoming week, a photographer captured her image. The photo went viral on Twitter, and top New York modeling agencies came calling. “I think I must have manifested this for myself since elementary school,” she told Vogue. “I always told my mom that something was going to happen to me by the time I was 20.” She was right. Months after that single image set the internet alight, she was opening for Prada in 2018.
Early Life and Background
Yai was born on December 20, 1997, in Cairo, Egypt, to South Sudanese parents who fled genocide in Sudan. Her family moved to the United States when she was young, settling in Manchester, New Hampshire. She attended Manchester High School West and later studied biochemistry at Plymouth State University, initially intending to become a doctor. Standing at 5 feet 10 inches tall, Yai brings a striking presence to every runway she walks.
Historic Prada Opening and Career Breakthrough
In 2018, Yai made history as the second Black model ever to open a Prada runway show, following in the footsteps of Naomi Campbell. “Me opening for one of the top fashion houses is a statement to the world, especially for Black women, that their beauty is something that deserves to be celebrated,” she told Vogue. This breakthrough launched her into supermodel status almost overnight. Since then, she has walked for countless luxury houses including Saint Laurent, Mugler, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta, and Matthieu Blazy’s highly anticipated Chanel debut.
Model of the Year 2025
In November 2025, the British Fashion Council named Anok Yai the Model of the Year. Unlike previous years when five models were shortlisted, the BFC convened an internal panel of industry leaders to decide the winner directly. The council described Yai as “a defining force in today’s fashion landscape,” praising her for not only reshaping beauty standards on the runway but also pushing forward a wider conversation around representation. “Her influence continues to shape culture and inspire the next generation,” the announcement read. Yai now joins a lineage of fashion icons who have held the title, including Bella Hadid, Paloma Elsesser, and Kate Moss.
The 2026 Met Gala: Black Madonna
At the 2026 Met Gala, themed “Costume Art” with a “Fashion Is Art” dress code, Yai delivered one of the most talked-about looks of the night. She collaborated with newly appointed Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli to create a custom couture gown reimagining the Black Madonna. “In the climate that we’re living in right now, we need hope,” Yai told Vogue. “I feel like being the Black Madonna in a Trump world is going to send that message.”
The look featured a black ruched couture gown with an oversized hood, black leather gloves, and a train that stretched five to six meters. Fifteen people worked around the clock for a week to create the custom Balenciaga piece. “The train is about five or six meters — taller than me,” her stylist Carlos Nazario joked.
Prosthetic Hair and Statue Vision
Yai was clear that she did not want to look like herself on the carpet. “When I go onto the red carpet, I don’t want to look like a human being,” she said. “I want to look like a walking statue — that’s why I decided on prosthetic hair.” The unorthodox updo included a nod to Medusa, complete with a knotted snake adorned on the back of her head. “This is the first Met where I’ve done something crazy that I don’t think anyone will do,” she told Vanity Fair. “No one’s going to show up in another prosthetic wig, right?”
The Health Scare: A Silent Battle
On December 19, 2025, in an Instagram post that shocked her followers, Yai revealed the silent battle she had been living with: a debilitating lung condition that ultimately required advanced robotic surgery. “I had a congenital defect where I had a very large artery coming out of my heart and going to the bottom-left half of my lung,” she explained. “It was pumping so much blood that the tissue on my lung was dying and my heart was getting overworked to the point where I was going to go into cardiac arrest.”
Only weeks earlier, she had been on stage at the British Fashion Awards accepting the Model of the Year award in a custom Dilara Findikoğlu gown. Then she was in a Manhattan hospital, an oxygen mask strapped to her face, her mother beside her. The diagnosis was severe: dead lung tissue, sepsis, necrosis, pneumonia. A surgery expected to take two hours stretched to five. “I remember waking up and the doctor was like: ‘Oh my God, that was close. We almost lost you. You almost died.'”
Recovery and Resilience
Her recovery was supposed to last a fortnight. It didn’t. “I have days where I am still feeling quite sick. I lost a lot of my stamina. have a lot of nerve damage,” she told British Vogue. Even walking, a necessary part of her healing, became excruciating. “I remember I would try to walk through the Brooklyn Museum and I couldn’t even get past two rooms. I was like, ‘My runway career is over.'” In January 2026, she was rushed back to hospital. “My ward became like a war room for the doctors with everyone just trying to figure out what was wrong, how to make sure I didn’t die.”
Personal Style and Creative Vision
Yai has a distinct personal style that goes far beyond the runway. She keeps notes on her phone for what she wants her style to be: “Effortlessly high effort; extremely feminine, but sexy; vampire; sheer fabrics; vintage. A girl who’s undeniably cool, dark and mysterious. She has her life together, but she’ll still take tequila shots and fight men in the club.” Her influences include Afrofuturism, sci-fi, early 2000s hip-hop and R&B, glamour, the 1930s, corsetry, and Victoriana.
Beyond Modeling: Activism and Representation
Yai has been very active in advocating for more inclusive beauty standards in global fashion. She has spoken out against jarring racial injustice experiences and microaggressions she has witnessed. Her goal is to “make dark-skinned beauty an everyday thing.” She has also expressed a desire to continue inspiring and supporting young girls to choose STEM fields, arising from her own experiences studying biochemistry. In 2026, she was celebrated as one of the most influential individuals of the year at the Time 100 gala.
Sisterhood in Fashion
Yai shares close friendships with fellow models Paloma Elsesser and Alex Consani, the previous year’s Model of the Year. Consani says: “Anok always keeps an eye out for the underdog. When we first met, she would always hype me up and still to this day, whenever someone in our space is feeling down, I see her do exactly the same. It’s a quality that’s truly rare in an industry made for competition.” Elsesser adds: “Anok has a beauty that feels singular, almost overwhelming, but what makes her most deserving is her mind, her wit, and her deeply creative spirit.”
Quick Facts About Anok Yai
- Full Name: Anok Yai
- Birthdate: December 20, 1997
- Age: 28 years old in 2026
- Height: 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m)
- Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
- Heritage: South Sudanese
- Education: Biochemistry at Plymouth State University
- Known For: Second Black model to open Prada, Model of the Year 2025
- Hobbies: Painting in her New York apartment
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Anok Yai? Anok Yai is a Sudanese-American supermodel who rose to fame after a viral photo at Howard University led to her opening a Prada runway show in 2018. She was named Model of the Year at the 2025 Fashion Awards.
How old is Anok Yai? Anok Yai was born on December 20, 1997. She is 28 years old in 2026.
What is Anok Yai’s background? She was born in Cairo, Egypt, to South Sudanese parents who fled genocide in Sudan. Her family moved to the United States when she was young.
What did Anok Yai wear to the 2026 Met Gala? She wore a custom Balenciaga gown reimagining the Black Madonna, complete with prosthetic hair and a five-meter train. The look was a collaboration with creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
What health scare did Anok Yai face? In late 2025, she underwent robotic surgery for a congenital lung defect that was causing dead lung tissue and threatening cardiac arrest. Her recovery was complicated by sepsis, pneumonia, and nerve damage.
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