Nyakim Gatwech, a 24-year old model affectionally known as Queen of the Dark, is turning heads everywhere with her fierce determination and her beautiful, flawless, dark skin tone. She is out to prove to everyone that she is very confident with her skin color, and inspires others to be the same way.

Gatwech, a South Sudanese born in Ethiopia, had to move to different places with her family as refugees due to war. Her family eventually immigrated to the United States, living in Buffalo, New York, where she had difficulties adjusting to the culture.

“I was fine with my self-esteem and I started being torn down by society, and I started looking at myself,” she told in an interview with CBS News. “Do I blend in with what the society considered to be beautiful?”

She then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she attended St. Cloud Tech High School and State University. That’s where she found more acceptance and even started her modeling career. Still, there are times when the photographer would try to boost her complexion and make it lighter, but she insisted that she want to stay true to her natural look.

She said that there was even one time that she encountered an Uber driver who asked her to bleach her skin and would even pay her to do so. But she only replied with a smile and said, “It’s funny that I still get that question today, people need to accept that we’re different.”

Now, Gatwech uses her experiences to be an inspiration to young girls all over the world. She has since been receiving a lot of support and currently has more than 850,000 followers on Instagram.

“She is black girl excellent, she is me and I am her. My beautiful niece is the reason I do what I do so she doesn’t look at herself in the mirror and see anything else but beauty, In a world that tries everyday to tell us we’re not the beauty stander, I remind her and all the little black girls out there that they are drop dead gorgeous, intelligent, brave outstanding and much more.”

According to Celebrity How, her net worth is $4 million from endorsements and brand ambassador deals with major companies like Fashion Nova.

 

This article was originally published by BlackBusiness.com.