Viola Haqi

Who is Viola Haqi?

Viola Haqi is a Dutch fashion model of mixed Dutch and Iraqi heritage.

Her mother worked at an insurance company and her father was a chef. Haqi auditioned for the Conservatory of Amsterdam, but turned it down because of the six lonely years of training it would take. She entered into modeling when a model stopped her on the street and convinced her to come back to her modeling agency. After moving to Paris, her career in modeling started to kick off as she was featured in 13 French Elle covers in the course of one year.

After spending two years in New York, she found herself earning a successful career in the advertising and catalogue market. Haqi became part of the rock band "Mink" and later "Dare Me Down", shuffling her time between modeling jobs and gigs at New York City venues like Brownies, Sina-i and many more. Two years after her move to London, she came back to New York to restart her career back at Q Management, cultivating advertising campaigns for Oil of Olay, ROC, Thermasilk and Biore; television commercials for Lexus and Clairol; and the covers of Shape and Eve magazines. Haqi also recorded a jazz record "My Favorite Time" and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Joe's Pub and Metropolitan Room. She is currently represented by Ford Models NY.