![]() ![]() Graham’s latest role was in the new Netflix film Operation Christmas Drop. and, most notably, The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons. At the same time, she was branching out into acting, taking roles in The O.C. The 31-year-old, Swiss-born Graham began her career as a backup dancer for Pharrell Williams and Jamie Foxx both onstage and in music videos before joining the Black Eyed Peas on tour in 2007 as their supporting act. She is only the fifth American to be appointed to the role. Maria Grazia does that with her fashion, and I think that’s why I’m super devoted to her.” Graham has also just been named a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, joining the likes of Cate Blanchett, Ben Stiller and Kristin Davis. Through my acting, it’s marginalized communities or relationships and aesthetics that people might overlook or undervalue. “With my humanitarian work, it’s refugees. “I want to bring attention to the things and people that need to be paid attention to,” says Graham. While Graham explores many different creative avenues, there is a common thread through it all. “She wears her clothes in a natural way, thereby embodying my idea of what it is to be a woman who chooses fashion as a tool to reflect her own identity.” Clearly, the feeling is mutual: “ Kat is a perfect representation of the current Dior aesthetic simply because she is authentic,” says Chiuri. “She gives a voice to the voiceless.” This includes incorporating traditional African textiles and fabrics into Dior’s resort collection (which Graham is modeling in this photo shoot). “Maria Grazia Chiuri’s interpretation of Dior is what I want to do in my acting,” explains Graham. She is a fan of Dior and regularly attends the French fashion house’s runway shows and events. Graham’s fashion journey has been another form of self-expression. “Whether you’re Black or not, we all struggle with self-acceptance,” she says, “and we all have our own individual journeys.” “Whether you’re Black or not, we all struggle with self-acceptance.” Emotionally, it felt like I was being rejected because my parent couldn’t really handle it.” After associating “manageable” hair with success in her personal and professional life for so long, she says it’s freeing to feel content with her natural locks. “My mom would just drop me off at the salon. “I’ve really learned to accept my curls, my ’fro and my African roots.” Graham describes going to a hair salon at age 6 because her mother, who is white, didn’t know how to style her hair’s texture. “Hair has been a spiritual journey for me this year,” she says. “We all want to cover up and pretend like we’re OK, but I think that the more honest you are about where you’re at, the more beautiful you are.” Discovering new beauty and hair routines on her own has been revealing and powerful for Graham, and has brought her to a new place of self-acceptance. “I’ve really stopped hiding everything,” says Graham. The actress and musician has always had a love for all things glam, but, since she’s been quarantining at her home in Atlanta for most of the year, she’s learned to live with less. Kat Graham is in hair and makeup preparing for a photo shoot at the Towers of the Waldorf Astoria residences in New York City on a gloomy November day.
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