Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Celebrity
Gregory Robinson
Gigi Hadid is one of the most recognisable models in the world, however the fans who thought they knew everything about her have only just realised ‘Gigi’ is not her real name.
The 27-year-old Vogue cover model rose to fame after making her reality TV debut on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with her mum Yolanda Hadid in. Gigi signed with IMG Models in 2011.
Through her noteworthy fashion campaigns, countless runway appearances and her high profile relationship with former One Direction singer Zayn Malik, the world has always known her as ‘Gigi’.
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In recent days, reports surfaced suggesting that Academy Award winner and bachelor Leonardo DiCaprio had set his sights on Gigi - who split from Zayn last October - and the pair were photographed out together at a party in New York City.
Gigi's prominence in the headlines recently has led Twitter users to recall an unusual fact about her.
In an Instagram post about the Hadid and DiCaprio, one picture shows an old yearbook-style photo of the model with her birth name written beneath – Jelena Noura Hadid.
“HER NAME IS JELENA?? I NEVER KNEW,” one shocked fan replied in the comments.
It turns out lots of people are unaware ‘Gigi’ is short for Jelena.
“I was today years old when I found out that Gigi’s real name is Jelena,” one shocked fan wrote on Twitter.
“Gigi Hadid’s real name is Jelena Noura Hadid WHAT,” another social media user tweeted.
While someone else shared: “So u’re [sic] telling me Gigi Hadid’s real name is Jelena.”
Other users were still in disbelief about Gigi’s real moniker.
“I always forget Gigi’s real name isn’t Gigi,” a Twitter user said.
For those who used to ship Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber’s relationship in the early 2010s, Gigi’s real name adds another layer of shock and confusion.
Fans of the two teen idols combined both of their first names to create the couple name ‘Jelena’ without realising that name was already in use.
One confused fan tweeted: “I don't care about anything i only care that Gigi Hadid's real name is 'Jelena' and what does that mean for her relationship with Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.”
While another account quipped: “The way Gigi was named after Jelena OMG and people say Justin & Selena have no impact.”
Gigi’s birth name is of Slavic origin and can also be written Yelena or Elena. Her father Mohamed Hadid is of Palestinian Jordanian descent and her mother Yolanda is Dutch.
You learn something new every day.