Hailed as 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie of the Year, Alexis Ren is making new waves as a model. Although she’s totally excited about bagging the title, Alexis said she was surprised about it: “Of course. There are so many beautiful girls….
I didn’t expect it. I mean I hoped for the best…so hell yeah!”
This year, she proves to be more than just your Instagram model. With the world looking at her, Alexis is ready to become a modelling pioneer. Unlike other models who started their career on catwalks and glossy magazines, Alexis is the first ever Instagram model to get the title and she’s totally loving how she’s changing the game for the better.
When asked if she’s shutting down her social media accounts, the 21-year old American model and internet celebrity said no. Instead, she’s “using it for bigger and better things… to help and reach to other people around the world.” Obviously, she wants everyone to feel connected.
Before she’s set to conquering the world, here are some facts you might want to know about her.
- She was homeschooled her entire life! But that doesn’t mean her childhood life was boring. She went to a ballet school for 10 years and trained 6-7 hours a day. Although she grew up in Santa Monica, she also spent some time living in Tokyo.
- She loves her mom! A lot of people say she’s like her mom and she takes it as a compliment. “It’s the biggest compliment ever because she was a shining ball of light.” Her mom died in 2014 due to breast cancer.
- She’s a travel junkie! She loves travelling and going to places. And she’s lived in 16 different apartments since she was 16 years old.
- She loves anime. No wonder she became the face of the mobile game, Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire. She has appeared in a series of advertisements to promote the video game with Kate Upton.
- In 2016, she publicly spoke about her eating disorder. Along with this disorder, she said: “I overworked myself to a point of malnourishment.
- She slowly recovered in 2017. Opening up about her disorder even made her stronger. In an interview with The Sun last year, she shares: “I’m stronger, happier, and healthier than I’ve ever been… in the last six months I’ve opened up to my followers about my struggles in my day-to-day.”
- She’s stronger, healthier, and even sexier now. Indeed, “being vulnerable to other humans is a form of strength.” Currently, Alexis enjoys working out every day, eats healthily, and has a healthy mindset. This means, even if she sometimes gain extra pounds, she’s totally okay with it.
- Her hobbies and interests include listening to music and podcasts, late night drives, skateboarding, and talking about technology and science.
- She considers herself a good friend. She treats her friends as role models. She also has more guy friends than girls.
- She became Maxim’s cover girl for the August 2017 issue.
Bonus: Here’s a steamy BTS video of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot.