I wanted to write a bit more about this wonderful teenager, because her story defied the odds of what was predicted by the professionals at the hospital eighteen years ago. They even intimated that her mother should leave her at the hospital because she would never walk, talk or amount to much! Like myself, her mother didn’t discover her daughter had Down Syndrome till moments after birth despite all ante-natal testing which didn’t reveal any abnormality.

Yet as early as age 5 Ellie showed great promise and a keenness to have a career on camera. She would sing and dance around the house and pretend to be modelling on the catwalk in various outfits. At five months she had to undergo major heart surgery owing to a congenital heart defect, but even then she was a ‘tough cookie’ and came out the other side. These days she studies performing arts at a mainstream college alongside her modelling work and is very proud she proved all negative attitudes about her wrong. She says: ‘they defined me by my Down Syndrome, but I’m just Ellie’.

Ellie never let go of her dreams and thanks to the support of her family she has been with a modelling agency, (Zebedee Management) since the end of 2017, which prides itself in representing differently able performers in a wide range of categories. Ellie couldn’t believe her luck as a highly sought after fashion model when she landed brands such as Nike, Vodafone and ultimately has become the face of a Gucci beauty campaign for Italian vogue. This just goes to show once again how strength, resilience, self-belief and determination can go a long way to achieving your dreams even when faced with so many obstacles and prejudice form society!