26-year-old Sofia Hadjipanteli is a real social media sensation. Today, the model boasts 500,000 followers on Instagram* and her own online movement with the hashtag #UnibrowMovement, which unites girls (and not only) with thick, fused eyebrows. And offline, everything is fine with her: an American with Greek-Cypriot roots works with such famous fashion houses as Jean Paul Gaultier and Valentino, and appears on the red carpet of the Cannes Festival along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Irina Shayk and other superstars.
But, of course, her life was not always so cloudless: as the girl herself admits, she was mercilessly bullied in childhood. “It took me years to accept the things I hated about myself. And even now I still have days when I don’t like what I see in the mirror,” Sofia told the Daily Star.
As for her newfound popularity, Sofia insists that she has no intention of attracting attention or shocking with her appearance. The girl just genuinely likes the way her unibrow looks. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said about some of her subscribers. “I get hateful messages every single day,” the model says. And she adds that after the bullying she had to endure at school, comments from online haters no longer hurt her.
“I think what bothers these trolls is that I honestly show my face. “They could never do this, because they are accustomed to only one type of beauty,” says the model. “Haters have suggested that I disappear or die so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s just sad.” However, Sofia believes that her example will help eradicate this rejection: “I hope that future generations will no longer receive such harsh criticism as I do now, because the unibrow will become more common.”
Well, looking at this beautiful, successful and very brave girl, we don’t even doubt it. And of course, we warmly support her proposal to love ourselves as we are. Especially after the endless news about victims of various appearance manipulations who take mortal risks in pursuit of stereotypical beauty and other people’s approval.
