Ever since Justin Bieber posted a picture of Cindy Kimberly on his Instagram five years ago, she has been picking up momentum.
The rising Spanish model was a relatively unknown figure as she drifted between school and her £3-an-hour babysitting job in Spain. But that particular incident in December 2015 changed her life and has garnered her millions of fan following ever since.
Along with the fame have also come questions regarding her race & ethnicity, which the model evidently finds amusing.
However, she takes all that in stride as she hangs around with celebrities and tours the world—all the while staying grounded alongside her Spanish mother.
The Incident That Brought Cindy Kimberly Into America's Spotlight
In December of 2015, smitten by Kimberly's looks, famed pop artist Justin Bieber posted a picture of her on his Instagram and asked his fans to help find her.
Having your photo posted by one of the biggest stars on the planet would no doubt mean the world to any fan, but little did she know that her world as she knew it was about to change.
Once the girl's name was revealed (who goes by the username of @woldiecindy on Instagram), she was noticed by various Spanish and American modeling agencies.
Immediately after the discovery, she was signed in 2016 by the Spanish modeling agency UNO Models based in Barcelona and Madrid. After being signed by the agency and appearing in a few catwalks that year, she was sought after by many other events, such as the 2017 Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid.
What's more fascinating is that companies spared no time in signing her. After appearing in the Madrid fashion show, she was signed by the famous cosmetics firm TRESemmé to become the company's face, that, too, at just age 17. Her Instagram followers even shot up, and she now has over six million followers.
Cindy Kimberly Fame Raised Misconceptions About Her Ethnicity
As if having a stunning look wasn't enough, her ethnicity also repeatedly drew curiosities and even some misconceptions regarding that. Some sites claimed her ethnicity could be traced back to Asia, others claimed her to be Dutch, and some even claimed that she was of White ethnicity.
As it turns out, this wasn't all false. Her being Dutch was partly true, but she herself revealed that other than the fact that she was born in the Netherlands, there was nothing Dutch about her. As for the Asian ethnicity, she is half Indonesian, as she stated on Twitter.
In one Tweet on January 16, 2019, she even wrote, "this is my fav comment on my instagram bc im literally Asian."
Cindy Kimberly answers her followers' FAQs.
She has also opened up about her Indo ethnicity on her Instagram profile. Her profile bio has specifically mentioned her as "Spanish Indo" (as in Indonesian), implying that her father was an Indo.
Cindy Kimberly Helped Her Mother by Babysitting for £3 an Hour
Before Bieber posted that life-changing photo of hers, Kimberly was still in high school and supported her mother financially by babysitting for £3 an hour in Costa Blanca, Spain.
This was revealed by Kimberly herself, according to Daily Mail. She had even posted an online CV resume advertising her babysitting services to potential families back in 2015.
In her CV, she wrote, "My name is Cindy Kimberly, and I am 16. I can do shopping and help with homework. If you are looking for a baby sitter and you would like to know more about me, contact me. I love children, and I can help them with English as I have a good command of English."
Ironically, this same photo that she posted for her babysitting services was the same photo that got Justin Bieber to take notice. Five years and several modeling gigs and endorsements later, she is definitely making a name for herself.
Just last year, in February 2019, she made the headlines when she was spotted with British racer Lewis Hamilton disembarking from his private jet in Barcelona's El Prat airport. The said photo in question had the Spanish model holding Hamilton's hands and staring into his eyes as they left the airport.
But the model, who is into painting, was quick to debunk the rumors stating that they were just friends and nothing more. According to her, she spends most of her time with her mother and her cat. But also cheekily added that "all friendships are open to love."
Despite the private jets, touring around the world with famous celebrities lifestyle that she currently enjoys, she is very much grounded—a quality that her mother presumably helped instill in her.
She does not hesitate to give a special shoutout to her mother whenever she can. She apparently finds her mother so cute that she wants to put her in her pocket and protect her.
Her father, however, is never mentioned other than the fact that she gets her part Indo ethnicity from her dad, thus alluding to their parent's separation.
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