The world turned its back on her when she needed it most. Manuela had it all: a rising career, magazine covers, and a bright future. But in a second, her body said “enough.”
After suffering a stroke, she managed to survive, but the road back to the runways has been a nightmare of closed doors.
Despite having recovered much of her mobility and keeping her passion intact, Manuela confesses that the fashion industry has turned its back on her.
“I go to castings and they don’t choose me anymore,” she recounts in pain.
For Manuela, diversity in fashion cannot be just a marketing trend.
“I feel like they look at me as if I were broken,” the model confesses.
She now uses her social media to show that a disability or its aftereffects do not cancel out talent or beauty