Iman Covers Harper's Bazaar UK February 2021, Lensed by Paola Kudacki

Somali-born supermodel icon Iman graces the cover of Harper’s Bazaar UK’s February 2021 cover on The Visionaries. Jason Rembert styles the legendary beauty in Alexandre Vauthier, Lanvin, Maison Margiela by John Galliano, Noir Kei Ninomiya; J.R. Malpere head dress; Chopard, Piaget and more luxe jewelry lensed by Paola Kudacki (IG).

Harper’s Bazaar UK editor-in-chief Lydia Slater interviews Iman in Nomad Spirit: Iman on Biden, Bowie and blazing a trail.

As Iman approaches the fifth-anniversary of her husband David Bowie’s January 10, 2016 death from liver cancer, she is definitive that she won’t remarry.

"David is in our hearts and minds on a daily basis, for all of us," she says of her family. "You know, this was my true love. My daughter once asked me if I would ever marry again and I said, 'never'."

The pair were introduced in 1990 by a mutual friend. "My attraction to her was immediate and all-encompassing. I couldn’t sleep for the excitement of our first date," the singer later said. "That she would be my wife, in my head, was a done deal. I’d never gone after anything in my life with such passion... I just knew she was the one."

After the family fled Mogadishu, Somalia, arriving in Kenya, the daughter of a diplomat and a doctor was spotted by legendary photographer Peter Beard. He asked Iman how much she would charge to pose for him, and she instinctively said $8,000. Her mother always counseled Iman to know her value. Beard agreed, and within a year Iman was living in New York and being photographed for top fashion magazines.

The businesswoman owner of Iman Cosmetics and Iman Global Chic fashion brand also works as a global ambassador for the charity Care.

"I know what it’s like to be an immigrant. I know what it’s like to not be white. I know what it’s like to not be male. I know what it’s like to adapt to a culture that’s not your own and long for the one you know. I know firsthand the extra burdens that each of these realities can bring. And thanks to the blessed NGOs like Care that were there to help me early on in life, I know that having an advocate in your corner can mean catching a break and having a chance."

Read more of Lynn Slater’s interview with Iman at Harper’s Bazaar UK.