Between walking in New York Fashion Week, landing a contract with fitness brand Manifesta and becoming the face of cosmetics company Glossigirl — the first model with Down Syndrome to headline a beauty brand — Madeline Stuart’s had a whirlwind 2015. And she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
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“It’s been a wonderful year,” Stuart, along with her mother Rosanne, tells TODAY.com. “We have made so many new friends and learned many more things about the fashion industry, but most of all, we have received so much love and support from our social media family.”
The 19-year-old from Queensland, Australia has close to 100k followers on Instagram and over half a million fans on Facebook who encouraged her as she pushed through the exhausting days, especially during NYFW.
“I think the long hours were the biggest challenge — and the huge amount of people backstage working at fashion shows!” she says.
But Stuart knows hard work — she’s chronicled her weight loss on social media and hits up the gym regularly for boxing, rowing, ropes and more.