Kiara Kabukuru is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 fashion model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 of Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

n descent. Kabukuru is best known as a CoverGirl model.

Early life and discovery

Kabukuru was born July 31, 1975 in Kampala

Kampala

Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...

, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

. With the aid of Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 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

Fashion photography

Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...

 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

Modeling agency

A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and or the head agency....

, including Women Management

Women Management

Women Management is a modeling agency based in New York. Founded by Paul Rowland in 1988, Women Management has achieved success in most of the major fashion capitals. Women represents supermodels like Carmen Kass, Natasha Poly, Izabel Goulart, and Isabeli Fontana...

, Trump Model Management

Trump Model Management

Trump Model Management is a modeling agency founded by Donald Trump in 1999. Trump founded the boutique agency, and still owns and operates it.-Fashion models represented by Trump :*Ximena Navarrete*Siri Tollerod*Elena Melnik*Paul...

, and Why Not Model Agency

Why Not Model Agency

Why Not Model Agency is a modeling agency based in Milan, Italy, and founded by Tiziana Casali and Vittorio Zeviani in 1976.-Models:Models represented by the agency have included:*Amber Lachner*Gianne Albertoni*Karoline Amaral*Darla Baker*Tyson Ballou...

., As of February 2011 she is represented by Silent models

Silent models

Silent Models is a modeling agency with offices in New York and Paris. The agency was founded in Paris in 2006 by Eric Dubois, previously director of the Paris office of Women Management, and by Vincent Peter, who formerly ran Madison Models...

 in New York and Paris. Kabukuru has walked for fashion houses including Dior

Dior

Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...

, Versace

Versace

Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...

, Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

, Chanel

Chanel

Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

, and Balmain

Balmain

Balmain can refer to:Places:* Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia* Balmain East, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia...

. Her most notable editorial work includes covers for Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

(Spain and United States) and Amica Italy, and a feature in the July 2008 all-black issue of Vogue Italia

Vogue Italia

Vogue Italia is the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it is the least commercial of all editions of Vogue magazine and has been called the top fashion magazine in the world....

. She has posed for advertising campaigns by Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....

, Moschino

Moschino

Moschino is an Italian fashion design house and manufacturer of women's, men's and children's fashion.-History:The brand was originally created in 1983 by the late Franco Moschino...

, L'Oréal

L'Oréal

The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...

, Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci

Gucci

The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...

, and most famously CoverGirl cosmetics.

She was featured in the Pirelli Calendar

Pirelli Calendar

The Pirelli Calendar is a trade calendar published by the Pirelli company's UK subsidiary. It has become an annual publication that dates back to 1964....

 of 1998 and walked the Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

 Fashion Show in 1999.

External links

• Kiara Kabukuru in the Fashion Model Directory
  Fashion Model Directory
  The Fashion Model Directory is an online database of information about female fashion models, modeling agencies, fashion labels, fashion magazines, fashion designers and fashion editorials. FMD is often denoted as the IMDb of the fashion industry, for being one of the world's largest fashion...