Australian born of Arabic origins, Jessica Kahawaty has bridged cultures together through her work in the fashion industry and humanitarianism. As an international model, philanthropist and ambassador for some of the world's exclusive brands, Jessica uses her name to continuously shed light on global issues around the world and empower young women to reach their full potential through education, the arts and social media.

A Finance and Business Law graduate; Jessica was the second runner up to Miss World in 2012.

Since then she has gained a vast and international following as she works between Australia, Dubai, Paris, New York and London in collaboration with high profile brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Rolls Royce, Carolina Herrara, Michael Kors and most recently was engaged by Miu Miu in the middle east to curate her own Miu Miu Select range.

Jessica has built an impressive portfolio of partnerships and ambassador roles with luxury brands, most recently her ambassadorship with Breitling watches. Previously she has worked with IWC, Maybelline India and Pepsi NEXT Japan. From this Jessica has also received coverage from top tier publications such as the New York Times, Vogue Spain, Vogue Italia, Vogue Arabia, Vogue US, Elle, L’Officiel, Conde Nast Traveller, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Marie Claire. In 2019 Jessica was named Woman Of The Year by Grazia Arabia.

As a presenter, in 2016 Jessica was announced as the host of Project Runway Series 1 (Middle East). The show consisted of an international jury including designer Elie Saab and personality Afef Jnifen. Prior to this Jessica was the face and presenter of Yahoo Maktoob’s entertainment shows in Dubai, interviewing regional and international names inclusive of Kobe Bryant, Adriana Lima, Selena Gomez and Nancy Ajram.

Jessica spends some time in Australia each year to spend time with family and friends and in 2017 was the face of department store Myer’s ‘Beauty Lives Here’ Campaign and was the special guest for the Kookai Spring Summer 17/18 fashion show.

For her work with charities, Jessica has worked with various organisations to provide clean water to villages in India and Rwanda, and has used her profile to raise awareness and funds for the St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Centre in Lebanon. Most recently Jessica was announced as a founding member of UNICEF Leadership Council. In 2017 she teamed up with Louis Vuitton and UNICEF and travelled to Jordan to visit the refugee camps.

Jessica is also a talented pianist and can speak English, French and Arabic.