Meet Halima Aden, The Hijab-Wearing Model Killing It On The Runway

Halima Aden is challenging the status quo in every way possible. At just 19, the Somali-American has become the most talked about model in the last three months. People began noticing her after she competed in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant in November last year. The reason? She competed wearing her hijab and was fully covered up during the swimsuit portion of the competition. Aden is probably the first woman to rock a burkini in an American beauty pageant. America's Next Top Model? People in the business seem to think so! Oh, and social media loves her too.

Here are 5 things you should know about her:

1. She was born in a Kenyan refugee camp.

Halima Aden starts off Miss Minnesota USA's swimsuit segment to big cheers from the crowd. Announcer: "She's making history tonight." pic.twitter.com/OUvbHv6xct

— Liz Sawyer (@ByLizSawyer) November 27, 2016

That's the reason she wants to be a United Nations goodwill ambassador one day. "When I lived in a refugee camp... I remember being six and thinking, I want to be one of those women because I knew how much they helped us," she says. Aden moved to the United States with her family and grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota - home to a large Somali-American community.

2. She's the first hijab-wearing model to sign with IMG Models.

Look at Halima Aden slaying in a hijab at Alberta Ferretti F/W17. #MFW pic.twitter.com/UR2QjF7dAV

— M. (@meenavoguee) February 22, 2017

Although Aden is not the first Muslim model to be signed by the world's top modelling agency, she is the first who wears a hijab and is "committed" to modest clothing. "I signed with the top modelling agency in the world and still wore my hijab as my crown," Aden wrote recently on Instagram.

3. Not only does she wear a hijab on the runway, she also rocks her braces.

Halima Aden, @IMG's first hijab-wearing model, makes debut at Yeezy: https://t.co/Bx1wo8gvbf pic.twitter.com/BWD07REUHP

— Oyster Magazine (@OysterMag) February 16, 2017

"(Braces) can make you insecure about your teeth. So I thought, What a great way to show people I'm not perfect. My teeth aren't perfect. But I'm still modelling," she tells The Cut.

4. The former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris thinks she will become a fashion icon.

Me everytime I see Halima Aden on my TL: pic.twitter.com/5GetyI0ubw

— Boofis (@Kirmataqaana) February 22, 2017

5. She's the first hijab-wearing model to appear on the cover of CR Fashion Book.

"People have the misconception that, as a Muslim woman, I am somehow against women wearing bikinis."-Halima Aden: https://t.co/uHtnhmuVhW pic.twitter.com/Rt1OrVZI4Y

— CR FASHION BOOK (@CRFASHIONBOOK) February 25, 2017