Somalian-born model and activist Ubah Hassan has released her own line of hot sauce, “Ubah Hot.”
The stunner spoke to Page Six about her new venture.
“Although I’ve found myself in a modeling career where I’ve had to watch what I eat to stay fit, I wanted to find a way to honor my palate and passion for food — and a way to enjoy the taste of food without compromising being healthy and radiant,” she told the entertainment outlet.
She added, “I thought of everyone who strives to eat healthier and consume more vegetables and less processed food, but didn’t want to miss out the savory deliciousness.”
Throughout her career, Hassan has modeled for some of the industry’s most renowned labels, including Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Rachel Roy and Gucci.
She also featured in an iconic Vogue Italia issue.
Speaking to Flare, Hassan says that her career highlight was being featured in “The first Italian Vogue all-Black issue [July 2008]. I was done in less than five minutes. I thought, This guy Steven Meisel, I really disappointed him. But when the issue came out, I was like, My name is on the cover! I started getting work [after that].”
Hassan fled war-torn Somalia for Kenya with her father and brother as a child. Her mother and sisters fled to Ethiopia. Sadly, her family was separated for seven years before they were all reunited in Canada.
She founded her own give-back company, Maji Umbrellas, in partnership with Oxfam. The company was created to find a way to fund sustainable solutions to a water shortage affecting the Horn of Africa. “Maji” means water in Swahili. One purchase will provide a full day’s supply of clean water to 20 people.
According to the Fashion Spot, the model says that her experiences have propelled her work to help other less fortunate.
“Fashion is fun, but it’s also about forward thinking,” she has said. “So when they don’t hire colored models, to me it means that the industry is not as forward or creative as it should be.”
