Chances are by now you've heard of Puerto Rican model Joan Smalls. She's one of the hottest most successful Latina models in the industry right and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Elle magazine put her on the first cover of the year in January and couldn't stop raving about her. In fact, they think she has "t__he planet's most perfect face__." Who's going to argue with that? She's stunning!
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"Flawless, unequivocal beauty" are just some of the terms Elle used to describe Joan. But none of them compare to "the planet's most perfect face." Man that is one serious compliment–especially for a model! A well deserved one to say the least. If you think about it, Joan has definitely broken boundaries in the beauty and fashion industry.
For one, she's the first Latina to land an international campaign for Estée Lauder all due to her striking looks. That's certainly a BIG deal. She's also the eighth-highest paid model in the whole wide world. And to top that all off she's one of Beyonce's good friends. She was even featured in her new video for "Yonce." In case you haven't noticed, Beyonce is pretty selective with who she associates with.
The striking model was born and raised in Hatillo, Puerto Rico. She left the island when she was 19 to pursue her modeling dreams, but it wasn't until 2010 that she really started to experience fame. Joan got her big break working with IMG's Kyle Hager and the rest is history.
The cool thing is one of the reasons why she's become so famous is because of her beautiful Latina looks. "We're just so conditioned to the Caucasian girl, the typical girl that becomes the star," model Shelly GoodStein told LA Times. "The fact that she's on the cover–I love that. It's time. A model's duty doesn't have to be dictated by a certain aesthetic."
Joan herself would like to see more models like her in the industry. The lack of diversity is definitely something that bothers her. "There are people in the industry who are advocates, who support diversity. And there are people who do not. I don't get it. Beauty is universal. These doors have to open," she told Elle.
Hopefully Joan's fame will help other inspiring Latina models land their big breaks. With a face like that I'm sure it will happen!
Image via Getty Images
