Madeline Stuart, an 18-year-old Australian model with Down syndrome, first went viral earlier this year after her stunning photos were posted on Facebook.
Since then, Stuart and her mom Rosanne have been fielding international
modeling requests. Most recently, Stuart signed to walk in New York
Fashion Week with MODA in association with the Christopher Reeve
Foundation. She has also been working with handbag company EverMaya and
will be the face of a new line of handbags (all named after her!)
launching Friday. Rosanne spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about how her
daughter's modeling is changing people's perceptions about intellectual
disabilities and what Madeline's impact on the world will be.
Congratulations on New York Fashion Week! What a big deal.
Yes! There's a lot of big deals happening at the moment, it's ridiculous!
What was your first reaction to hearing the NYFW news?
When we were asked to do New York Fashion Week, it didn't surprise me. I don't think anything really surprises me anymore. She's been asked to do a lot of stuff and I was hoping to she'd get asked to do NYFW but I assumed it would happen. I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious.
No, that's so exciting. It is very exciting and it's going to take her from one level to the next. I know [American Horror Story
actress who also has Down syndrome] Jamie Brewer did it in February,
but she is a movie star, she's not a model. With Madeline, this is her
career, so I think it's going to be a great platform for her.
When Madeline first went viral, she called Brewer an inspiration. Have they since met?
We did meet Jamie in L.A.
How was that?
It was great. She's a lovely young lady. She's very high-functioning, a lot higher functioning than Maddy. She's just beautiful. I don't think I've ever met someone with Down syndrome who isn't beautiful. They just have the most amazing personalities. She was so excited to meet Maddy; she'd been following her on Twitter for months. One of the first people to follow Madeline on Twitter was that supermodel Karlie Kloss. Isn't that amazing?
Maddy's social media accounts have grown exponentially since they were created in May. How do you explain that kind of growth?
There hadn't been anyone who chased this dream, whereas Madeline really chased it. She wanted this and she worked hard for it. I've done everything I can on the business end to get her to this stage. Now it's just her working her charm.
Do you also think the world was ready for someone like Madeline to be in the spotlight?
The world was ready. The world wants to be inclusive, it just hasn't had anyone on such a platform that they were able to do it easily. I remember when I was a child at school, people were homophobic and things like that, and now it's cool to be gay! Imagine in 10 years what society will be like for people with disabilities. It's not going to be how it is now, it's going to be the norm. It's probably going to be cool to hang out with someone who has an intellectual disability because you know that they care more about emotions than they do about the materialistic world. Everyone's going to want that friend to teach them what true love is.
Where do you most see enthusiasm for Maddy's work?
You can see it with Instagram. It's mainly young people and I see people putting on Madeline's Instagram "Madeline #HairGoals," "Madeline #RelationshipGoals," "Madeline #FigureGoals," "Madeline, oh my god, you're prettier than I am, fashion sense on cue or something like that." This is the next generation! These are young girls who are never going to grow up being discriminatory! When Maddy was born, I can remember walking around the street with people abusing me saying she should be in an institution, and that was 18 years ago!
How has the modeling affected your relationship? It's not about the modeling for me. It's about my daughter being happy. This is about showing the world how easy it is to talk to someone with an intellectual disability, how easy it is to walk up to someone and make them realize they're the same! Like she said to me a minute ago, "Mum, hug," and I jumped into bed and gave her a hug. I put down my work and gave her a hug because that's what she wanted in that moment and that's what I cherish. You don't always get those moments.
Congratulations on New York Fashion Week! What a big deal.
Yes! There's a lot of big deals happening at the moment, it's ridiculous!
What was your first reaction to hearing the NYFW news?
When we were asked to do New York Fashion Week, it didn't surprise me. I don't think anything really surprises me anymore. She's been asked to do a lot of stuff and I was hoping to she'd get asked to do NYFW but I assumed it would happen. I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious.
When Madeline first went viral, she called Brewer an inspiration. Have they since met?
We did meet Jamie in L.A.
How was that?
It was great. She's a lovely young lady. She's very high-functioning, a lot higher functioning than Maddy. She's just beautiful. I don't think I've ever met someone with Down syndrome who isn't beautiful. They just have the most amazing personalities. She was so excited to meet Maddy; she'd been following her on Twitter for months. One of the first people to follow Madeline on Twitter was that supermodel Karlie Kloss. Isn't that amazing?
Maddy's social media accounts have grown exponentially since they were created in May. How do you explain that kind of growth?
There hadn't been anyone who chased this dream, whereas Madeline really chased it. She wanted this and she worked hard for it. I've done everything I can on the business end to get her to this stage. Now it's just her working her charm.
The world was ready. The world wants to be inclusive, it just hasn't had anyone on such a platform that they were able to do it easily. I remember when I was a child at school, people were homophobic and things like that, and now it's cool to be gay! Imagine in 10 years what society will be like for people with disabilities. It's not going to be how it is now, it's going to be the norm. It's probably going to be cool to hang out with someone who has an intellectual disability because you know that they care more about emotions than they do about the materialistic world. Everyone's going to want that friend to teach them what true love is.
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You can see it with Instagram. It's mainly young people and I see people putting on Madeline's Instagram "Madeline #HairGoals," "Madeline #RelationshipGoals," "Madeline #FigureGoals," "Madeline, oh my god, you're prettier than I am, fashion sense on cue or something like that." This is the next generation! These are young girls who are never going to grow up being discriminatory! When Maddy was born, I can remember walking around the street with people abusing me saying she should be in an institution, and that was 18 years ago!
How has the modeling affected your relationship? It's not about the modeling for me. It's about my daughter being happy. This is about showing the world how easy it is to talk to someone with an intellectual disability, how easy it is to walk up to someone and make them realize they're the same! Like she said to me a minute ago, "Mum, hug," and I jumped into bed and gave her a hug. I put down my work and gave her a hug because that's what she wanted in that moment and that's what I cherish. You don't always get those moments.
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