Glamour cover model Bella Hadid on fame, family, and her modeling career

BH: Definitely. People are really mean about it. They always say that I don’t have what I have—but it’s taken a toll on my life since I was 15. I’ll occasionally get comments now like, “How do you have this disease if you’re working every day?” But I didn’t want it to hold me back anymore. I’m still 19; I still have a life and things to do.

GLAMOUR: What does having Lyme actually feel like?

BH: It starts with brain fog; for a while I couldn’t put sentences together. I’m really tired a lot. A few weeks ago I had a big campaign shoot that I had to reschedule. It’s hard, but I push through, because at the end of the day, if you’re not working, somebody else is.

GLAMOUR: Where did you get your work ethic?

BH: My parents; they’ve always been hard workers. I started working when I was about 14 at a juice place, making juices, acai bowls. I cashiered. I cleaned dishes—and like 100 blenders—for hours.

GLAMOUR: Your mom has been your guiding force in many ways.

BH: My mom’s always who I go to when I’m feeling really sad…on the days when I’ll read 10 good comments and one awful comment—and still get down on myself about the one [negative].

GLAMOUR: Do we, as women, do that more often than men?

BH: Humans are humans. If somebody’s mean to you, it’s not gonna feel good—no matter if you’re a man or a woman. I’m really proud to be a woman. I love that women can be feminine but also powerful. You know, free the nipple!

GLAMOUR: [Laughs.] Are you a fan of the Free the Nipple movement?

BH: I mean, my mom is European. My whole family is European. We were always very comfortable with our bodies. It’s fine if you don’t want to show your body like that. But if a woman wants to show her body, I’m all for it. Everybody loves a little nip.

GLAMOUR: Would you ever free the nipple, or would Mom be mad?

BH: I think Instagram might be madder than my mom. [Laughs.] But you know, one day. One of these days—I’ll tag you.

GLAMOUR: What else does the future hold for you?

BH: I want to keep modeling. I want to give back to the world. In five years I would love to be just really happy.

Abby Haglage is a senior writer at The Daily Beast.

Now, watch Glamour cover star Bella Hadid sing her all-time favorite song.