Adut Akech Bior: From supermodel to super mother

Adut Akech Bior plans to welcome her daughter into the world in Los Angeles, where she currently lives. But a return to Australia to be as close to her extended family as possible is on her mind.

Adelaide-raised supermodel Adut Akech Bior is expecting a baby girl. Photography: Jesse Lizotte

Adut Akech Bior – global supermodel, beloved of brands including Valentino, Saint Laurent and Versace – is no stranger to standing in front of a lens.

But this was the first photo shoot for the 24-year-old Adelaide-raised star to feature her extended family including husband Samuel Elkhier, with whom she is expecting a baby girl.

“I’m over the moon, and I can’t wait for her to be here and meet her,” Akech Bior said in an interview with Vogue Australia’s editor-in-chief Christine Centenera for the November issue.

She also revealed that she had always loved babies and dreamt of having six children. Akech Bior is herself one of six.

Adut Akech Bior is expecting a baby girl and graces Vogue’s November cover. Photography: Jesse Lizotte

“My sisters are excited to be aunties,” she said. “I’m so excited for everybody. I just can’t wait. This baby is going to change our lives for the best, and forever.”

Akech Bior, who was born in South Sudan and spent her early years in a Kenyan refugee camp, said she inherited strong matriarchal traits from her own mother, Mary, who is “an awesome mum”.

“I feel like my mum is going to want to be there for me, and I’m just going to be in the background gushing over my child. She’s such an incredible mother. She’s loving, she’s gentle, but I think she also had that … kind of a little toughness. And I’ve adopted that and I have that with my siblings.”

The pair are close and Akech Bior is looking forward to sharing that same closeness with her own daughter. “I’m just excited to have her by my side,” she added. “My mum – this is her first grandchild, so it’s so special.”

Adelaide-raised supermodel Adut Akech Bior with husband Samuel Elkhier. Photography: Jesse Lizotte

Pregnancy has also made Akech Bior, one of the world’s most in-demand supermodels – she regularly graces the covers of magazines all around the world – reflect on her approach to work.

“My baby’s not even here yet, so I feel obviously my priorities are going to change more and more and more, as time comes,” she said. “But yeah, you start to look at things differently … Is it worth it? Can I do it? Should I do it? I don’t really feel bad about saying no to these things. Because it’s not the end of the world.

“When I feel like I’m ready to get back to work, then hopefully that opportunity will be there.”

Akech Bior plans to welcome her daughter into the world in Los Angeles, where she lives. But a return to Australia to be as close to her extended family as possible is on her mind.

“I actually just bought a piece of land and next year we’re going to start building,” she said. “My comeback to Australia is slowly starting. I’m super homesick. Not ‘I miss home’ type of homesick, but ‘I want to move back home’ type of homesick. It’s gotten worse since getting pregnant. All I want is to be around my family.”

Vogue Australia’s November issue is on sale on Monday, November 4.