In today’s episode of famous doppelgängers who also happen to be models, 18-year-old Joann van den Herik joins Iza IJzerman and Natalie Zettel on the list of people who resemble someone famous. In Henrik’s case, however the resemblance isn’t coincidental — it’s genetic. Yes, she’s the daughter of Leo van den Herik, a successful Dutch businessman and the former chairman of the Feyenoord Rotterdam football club. She also happens to be Yolanda Hadid’s niece (Hadid’s maiden name is van den Herik), meaning she’s Gigi, Bella, and Anwar’s cousin.
But that’s not where the similarities end: Like her famous kin, Herik is also a model. Though based in Holland, she's currently signed with London agency 12+ UK Model Management, where she’s part of their 12+ board. And she shares her modelling journey — including her fears and insecurities — with the 31k+ people who follow her on Instagram, creating a supportive, body-positive community.
Under one photo she posted early Thursday, van den Herik writes: “I smile today because I'm so happy to be alive and healthy. I'm happy I can get out of bed every morning and I'm happy I can do things I love and I have people that love me. I'm happy to have this platform where I can share my ups and downs, my life, my insecurities. I'm happy I had the opportunity to get past my insecurities and to better my life, my health and my mindset.”
She continues: “I'm happy I got the chance to accept myself and I want to help you guys accept yourselves too. You're unique, you're you. And you have a reason to smile, because: you're so beautiful and sweet and kind. Never let anyone tell you otherwise, never let anyone get you down. Your mindset is all that matters, you will never get happy by changing your appearance over and over again. The only way you can be happy and SMILE everyday is when you change your mindset and accept and love all the things you do have.” She ended her caption asking her followers what reasons they had to smile.
Beyond her refreshingly positive attitude and looks, it seems van den Herik also shares her cousin's infatuation with newsboy caps. Seriously, she even tagged Bella in this photo. Now how do we say “seeing double” in Dutch?
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