Chanel Ayan Biography
Chanel Ayan is a Kenyan-born businesswoman and television personality. She is best known for being a cast member of the reality television show; The Real Housewives of Dubai which airs on Bravo-TV
Chanel Ayan Career
Ayan wanted to become a model, so she moved to São Paulo, Brazil, when she was 18. Following that, she moved to New York City, USA, with Elite Models. Finally, in 2005, she went to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Some of the fashion brands that Ayan has worked for are Chanel, Dior, Moschino, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany & Co., Valentino, and Louis Vuitton.
She was also the first black person to work in an ad campaign for Emirates and the Dubai Tourism Company. On the cover of Vogue Arabia, American Vogue, and Vogue Italia, she has been seen by many people. Forbes, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar have all put her on their covers. She also made history when she was the first black beauty to be on the cover of a magazine in Dubai. Ayan is also the “muse” for Amato Couture, and she wears clothes that were made for Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj.
From Miss Universe UAE, she became head of runway in 2021. Nina Ali, Caroline Brooks, Dr. Sara Al Madani, Lesa Milan, and Caroline Stanbury were all revealed to be on the first season of The Real Housewives of Dubai in 2022. Ayan was one of them. The season started on June 1, 2022. After the first season of the show did well, Ayan and her makeup artist Toni Malt started their own beauty line called AYAN Beauty.
Chanel Ayan Age
Ayan was born on June 7, 1978, in Malaba, Kenya. She is 45 years old as of 2023, and she celebrates her birthday on the 7th of June every year.
Chanel Ayan Height and Weight
Ayan stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches tall (1.77m) and weighs 59 kgs (130 lbs).
Chanel Ayan Family
Ayan was born in Malaba, Kenya to his parents. Her father was an alcoholic he used to beat Ayan when she was young so she suffered immense cruelty and trauma. Ayan and her siblings were raised mostly by her mother who is Ethiopian. She has five siblings two being named Sadik and Irfah whom they are very close.
Ayan and her sister Ifrah were both forced into female circumcision and genital mutilation so they could “remain virgins until marriage.” This is still a common practice in some parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The cutting happened when Ayan’s aunt and grandmother took her and her sister to a house tied them to a bed and got circumcised When she was 14, her father tried to sell her into marriage, but her sister stopped him. As a public figure, Ayan speaks out against what she calls “a barbaric practice.” She says that her society did nothing but betray her but the good thing is she is a survivor.
Ayan has a cousin named Ubah Ali Hassan who is a Somali-Canadian businesswoman, model, and television personality. Ubah has worked with great designers like Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Rachel Roy, and Oscar de la Renta. She made her brand of hot sauce called Ubah Hot and is the founder and CEO of that company. Another thing that Hassan is known for is being on the Bravo television show The Real Housewives of New York City. She started on the fourteenth season of the show. She is also known for her charitable work.
Chanel Ayan Husband
Ayan has been married to Luca Salves who is from Idaho, United States since 1995. The two met in Brazil when she was 17 years old. They tied the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony attended by family and close friends in Brazil. The couple is blessed with a son named Taj Salves (born 2008).
Chanel Ayan Net Worth
Ayan has an estimated net worth of about $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through her career as a businesswoman and television personality.
Chanel Ayan Salary
Ayan earns an annual salary of about $100,000-$500,000.
Chanel Ayan Son
Ayan and her husband Luca Salves have a son together named Taj Salves who was born in 2008. It seems that Taj is following his mother’s steps of becoming a model through his pictures online. He has been attending his mother’s events and supporting her brand.
Chanel Ayan Cousin
Ubah Hassan is Ayan’s cousin. Hassan was born in 1983 in Somalia. Her three sisters and mother left war-torn Somalia and went to Ethiopia in 1991. In 1994, Hassan, her father, and her brother went to Kenya. After that, Hassan moved to Canada when she was 15. There she met her mother and sister, who had also moved to the country. When Hassan’s family moved to Canada, they had to stay in a shelter for the homeless for a year.
Hassan started modeling in Vancouver and Toronto when she was 17 years old. She was discovered by a photographer in a park in Canada. When she lived in Vancouver, she also ran a diner. She was signed by Click Model Management in New York City in 2007. There, she started doing photoshoots with famous people and walking fashion shows.
Hassan was in an editorial piece in Allure magazine in April 2008. She was named Model.com’s Model of the Week in May of that year. She has been in Vogue Italia twice. The first time was in the Black issue in July 2008, where Steven Meisel took her picture. The second time was in the Soul Kitchen issue in January 2009, where Bruce Weber did her picture. For Spring/Summer 2009, she was the face of Ralph Lauren’s ads.
Hassan has worked with Hollywood stars like Oscar de la Renta, Rachel Roy, Betsey Johnson, Malan Breton, Gucci, Lucky Brand Jeans, CoverGirl, Polaroid, and Macy’s. She is still signed to her mother agency, Richard’s International Model Management in Vancouver, and Models 1 in London as of 2023. Hassan was the subject of a short documentary film called Ubah! that came out on CNN.com in March 2015. It was directed by Joe Berlinger. Hassan talks about her childhood in Somalia, her work as a model, and her charitable work in Cambodia in the short film.
Hassan started and runs the vegan hot sauce brand Ubah Hot, which is based on African flavors. In November of that same year, the hot sauce was named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things and It was first sold in June 2021. In the seventh episode of the first season of the Netflix reality show My Unorthodox Life, she talked about her hot sauce brand with Julia Haart, who stars in the show. The news came out in October 2022 that Hassan would be joining The Real Housewives of New York City. Hassan’s first season of the show, the fourteenth, started on July 16, 2023.
Hassan is interested in several charitable activities. She works as a spokesperson for Oxfam Sisters on the Planet. The group wants to change laws and policies that keep women in poverty to end widespread discrimination against women. Hassan worked with Oxfam to make Maji Umbrellas in 2012. Hassan was the president and co-founder of the company that sold umbrellas and gave some of the money made to projects in East Africa that worked to improve access to clean water. After that, Hassan won an Elle magazine Genius Award for her work with Maji Umbrellas.
The world charity of the shoe company Toms Shoes is very important to her, and she has gone to Cambodia to give shoes and other necessities to people who need them. In the short video Ubah!, Hassan is seen giving money to the Cambodian Children’s Fund. She said that after her trip to the country, she felt moved to help the kids there. Hassan also works for All Hands and Hearts, a charity that helps people who have been hurt by natural disasters.
Hassan was given an award from The Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research in June 2023 for her work to raise awareness and money for cancer research. In 2012, her mother died of leukemia, which made her want to help the cause. Hassan is dating Oliver Dachsel, a financial banker, and they’ve been together since 2022.
The Real Housewives of Dubai
Ayan will be cast on the second season of reality television show The Real Housewives of Dubai. This show’s second season will debut in February 2024. A group of women from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will have their personal and work lives shown on the show. With so many followers on Instagram, it’s no surprise that Ayan is into fashion and loves putting an interesting caption in her photos. It is clear from the way she looks that she is Dubai’s first Black beauty and a successful one at that.
People watched an exciting first episode in which the women tried to move on from what happened at the Season 1 reunion. Caroline Stanbury has made things right with both Lesa and Chanel, but that doesn’t mean all of the women are happy. Sara and Chanel are having a very bad time because of something Sara said in public.
In Season 2, the women’s confessional looks continue to stun. One of Chanel’s outfits, a dress made of many red roses matched with matching heels and a huge headpiece covered in the same flowers, made the audience gasp in admiration.
Chanel Ayan Social Media Platforms
Ayan is very active on her Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages. She has 51.2k followers on Twitter 436.2k followers on Instagram, and 500 followers on Facebook.