ARTS AND CULTURE

Sarah Idan

Model

An Iraqi-American model, television host, musician, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe in 2017, Sarah Idan taught herself English by listening to Western pop music while still a teenager in Baghdad. The first Iraqi model to participate in the Miss Universe pageant in 45 years, Idan found herself the target of hateful attacks in her home country after she posed for a photo with Miss Israel, Adar Gandelsman. Unphased by the anger directed towards her, Idan visited Israel in 2018. “There are a lot of Iraqi people on my side, and I believe they are happy I am here,” she said. In 2019, Idan again made headlines when she declared that anti-Israel Congresswoman Ilhan Omar “does not represent me as a Muslim – nor does she represent millions of Muslims in the Middle East.” (Photo: AJC Global / Screenshot)