Sometimes, the difference between meteoric success and a painful miss comes down to a matter of minutes. Daniella Halfon experienced that firsthand not long ago. Until last October, she was a model working extensively abroad but largely anonymous outside the industry.
Then came her selection for the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, an achievement previously reached by only one Israeli model, Sun Mizrahi.
This was your first runway show ever, and it was one of the most high-profile events in the world. You walked alongside supermodels like Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Adriana Lima. How did it feel?
“It was surreal. I felt like I was outside my body, watching everything from the side. It was crazy. A mix of a million emotions: pride, pressure, excitement. Mostly I thought about little Daniella, how she would feel, and how much I wanted to make her proud.”
How were the reactions?
“I was really hurt by the reactions. Some were supportive, but there were many comments saying I wasn’t pretty, questioning what I was doing there, or saying my walk looked like strolling through a mall. Today I can laugh about it, but at the time it hurt deeply. It seeps in. It makes you ask yourself whether maybe there’s some truth to it.”
Halfon on the Victoria’s Secret runway. “I was really hurt by the reactions.”
This is the second year in a row that an Israeli model was chosen. Not something to take for granted given the current global climate.
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Daniella Halfon at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show
(Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/ Gettyimages IL)
“I don’t think they know you’re Israeli at first. The agency initially sends only photos and basic details like height and measurements. After I was accepted and already at fittings, the show’s director came up to me and asked where I was from. I was nervous about his reaction, but he was amazing. When I said ‘Israel,’ he asked, ‘How’s your family? Is everyone OK?’ It really warmed my heart.”
‘I screamed like a madwoman’
Halfon, 23, was born and raised in Ramat Gan to parents in the diamond trade and has a sister five years younger. Since entering modeling, she has been dubbed “the Israeli Zendaya.” Like the American actress, she has striking features, curly hair and dark skin.
“All the color comes from my dad’s genes. If you ask him, he’ll say the beauty does too,” she laughs. “I’m a classic melting pot. My dad is Yemeni and Tripolitanian, my mom Hungarian. It’s a very unique mix, and people abroad have a hard time figuring out where I’m from.”
At age 11, Halfon was diagnosed with vitiligo, an autoimmune skin condition that causes white patches.
“They told us there were treatments that could sometimes stop the progression and even restore pigment. I did UV phototherapy for about six weeks. It hurt terribly, until I told my parents I wouldn’t do it anymore. The treatment worked and stopped the disease, but I still have some white patches, mainly on my stomach. They often retouch them in shoots, and I don’t love that, because I’ve learned to love them. They’re a kind of souvenir.”
Despite her shyness, Halfon was drawn to modeling from a young age, largely because of her mother.
“My mom is very beautiful, and as a child she dreamed of being a model, but she’s short, about 5 feet. We used to watch the Victoria’s Secret show together on YouTube every year.”
Just before turning 18, she received her first offer.
“I went to a dress designer to choose a gown for my high school prom. The designer, Tamar Saku, asked to photograph me in the dress. I didn’t know she sent the photos to Omri Yairi, the head of ITM Models. The next day she called and said he wanted to meet me. I started screaming like a madwoman at home. I ran to my mom shouting, ‘You won’t believe it, I’ve been invited to a meeting at Omri’s agency!’”
From there, Halfon quickly moved between campaigns for brands like Castro and Adika, while signing with agencies abroad. She has modeled for Kylie Jenner’s beauty brand, appeared in a Pull&Bear campaign with billboards across Europe, and starred in an Intimissimi commercial on Italian television.
As an Israeli, did you feel hostility while working abroad?
“Yes. Since the war, many clients I worked with didn’t want to continue working with me. I also experienced more personal things. Once, on a shoot in Italy, the photographer’s assistant suddenly asked me, ‘How do you feel about murdering children?’ I was shocked. I said, ‘It hurts me on both sides,’ just to stay neutral and end the conversation. In hindsight, I regret not telling him that we are absolutely not murdering children and that he should educate himself. He caught me completely off guard.”
In the past six months, Halfon has begun working with an emotional therapist.
“I realized therapy isn’t a dirty word and that it’s not only for people who are broken. I know how deep this profession can take you, and I want to avoid that.”
What does the therapist help you with most?
“With loneliness, with criticism, with everything related to body image. This is an industry with extremely harsh standards. No one tells you directly that you need to lose weight, but they hint at it. You notice when they’re not happy with your measurements. You feel awful when you’re on set and the jeans don’t fit. I know many models develop eating disorders because of this, and I don’t want to go there.”
How do you cope with it?
“There were times I tried to lose weight and succeeded, and I felt better about my body then. But bodies fluctuate. They change all the time. I’m trying to treat myself with more compassion. As much as I love this job, I’m not going to destroy my body because of someone’s opinion or hint.”
Do your friends support you?
“My closest friends today are only people I met in recent years. I’m no longer in touch with any childhood friends. Many of them weren’t supportive when I started modeling. They tried to bring me down, asking, ‘Since when do you want to be a model?’ or ‘Why would you do this to yourself?’ I’d ask a friend, ‘Why didn’t you like my photo?’ and she’d say, ‘Because I didn’t like it.’ I know it came from jealousy, and that’s OK. I learned that if people don’t want the best for me, it’s better to distance myself.”
The inspiration: Gal Gadot
Alongside everything else, Halfon has maintained a stable relationship for five years with Roi Azut, 24, a soccer player from the moshav Ein HaBesor, who joins part of the interview.
How did you meet?
Daniella: “I hate our meeting story. It happened shortly after I signed with the agency and did my first interview, where I said I hate when guys hit on girls on Instagram. Guess how we met. Exactly that way.”
Roi: “I came across Daniella’s profile by chance, liked the photos and sent her two smiling heart emojis.”
Daniella: “Terrible story. But because I liked him, I replied. I wrote, ‘I understand you liked.’”
Roi: “We went on a first date in the Sarona complex, and both our phones were stolen. On the way home, I got a flat tire.”
Roi, does Daniella’s growing fame worry you? For example, famous soccer players sliding into her DMs?
Roi: “It already happened. But I trust her completely, and we joke about it.”
Daniella: “Roi has been a Real Madrid fan since childhood, to the point of almost crying when they lose. Recently, one of the team’s stars, Vinícius Júnior, messaged me on Instagram. Instead of telling me to ignore it, Roi told me I had to reply. In the end, without him knowing, we both replied together.”
Azut has since signed with Yairi’s agency as well, appearing in several campaigns, including a joint one with Halfon for Gant. For now, both still live with their parents.
“I travel abroad a lot, and it doesn’t make sense for us to rent a place together,” Halfon explains. “Often Roi can’t join me, and loneliness is one of the hardest parts of this job. For the Victoria’s Secret show, I had to be alone in New York for a month. It was really tough. Out of desperation, I started approaching random people.
“On a previous visit, Roi was with me, and we befriended an American waitress. This time, I messaged her: ‘Hey, I’m in New York. Want to meet?’ She came with her friends, but it was awkward and uncomfortable.”