Bullied woman becomes 'first albino influencer'
Bullied woman becomes 'first albino influencer'

A woman with albinism who was bullied mercilessly as a child is now carving a name as a successful model – dubbing herself “the first albino influencer” after racking up 20,000 Instagram followers.

Growing up, Jennifer Rhodes, 34, often felt "alone and hopeless" because of her condition, which means she lacks the skin pigment melanin, affecting her eye, skin and hair colour.

Despite her African American heritage, she is “ghostly white” with a full head of blonde hair – which made her the target of school bullies, who would run away from her in the corridors.

For years, she felt like “the only person in the world” with the condition – until she discovered the charity National Organisation for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) aged 15.

Buoyed by their support, she found the confidence to start giving beauty tutorials to friends, who encouraged her to upload them to social media – where her follower count began to skyrocket.

Now a full-time influencer, Jennifer, of New York City, USA, who is in a relationship with hip hop artist Jahron Black, 25, said: "Growing up, I felt I was the only person with albinism in the world."