'I want to be seen': Meet model, influencer and author Ellie Goldstein
Meet Ellie Goldstein, a model with Down syndrome who has worked with Vogue and Gucci
Ellie Goldstein is stretching her hand towards me, proudly showing off her glossy dark red nails. “Gucci sent me the new collection of nail polishes,” she says.
It’s just one of the perks of her job as a model and influencer. The 21-year-old has been modelling for five years, working on campaigns for brands including Gucci, Nike, and Superdrug.
Her picture has been displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London twice and she has already reached what for many is the pinnacle of modelling — appearing on the cover of Vogue earlier this year.
A list of achievements that any 21-year-old would be proud of. But, even more remarkable given the fact that when Ellie was born, a doctor told her parents Yvonne and Mark that she would never walk, talk, or go to university.
Ellie, who has Down syndrome, has defied that cruel pronouncement and then some, to realise her dreams. Now she has written about it all in a book, Against the Odds, an inspiring and uplifting account of her amazing life, with contributions from the people close to her, including her mum, who joins her on a Zoom call to chat.
Seeing the book out in the world is “really exciting and weird”, Ellie says. Why did she want to write it?
And who exactly is she?
“I’m a diva, I’m a drama queen, I’m a cheeky monkey, I’m confident and I’m outgoing,” she laughs. All of those qualities add up to an infectiously optimistic outlook on life.
As Ellie writes: “The first thing you should know about me is that I am happy. Before writing this book, I sat down with my mum Yvonne and looked over my life so far and, even though I knew that at times I was supposed to feel down or upset, I just didn’t.”
If anything gets her down, it is when people don’t see or understand her full potential. In the book, Ellie writes about how people underestimate her and put her in a “Down syndrome box”. How does that feel?
“It’s rubbish,” she replies. “I don’t like it because I want to be out there, not hidden, I want to be seen out in the world.”
Yvonne made sure that from an early age, Ellie would be seen out in the world, following her passions, including horse-riding and dancing, even though it wasn’t always easy or straightforward to challenge people’s preconceptions about people with Down syndrome.
In the book, she writes about how she knew her daughter was a force to be reckoned with from the moment she latched on tight to her first bottle.
“I love that story,” Ellie adds. “I was like ‘ahh, give me the milk’.”
But when Ellie was born, as Yvonne writes, there were “no smiles, no sense of celebration”.
One nurse even suggested that Ellie could be left in the hospital. As Yvonne says, if your child has Down syndrome, they’re not signing up to an awful life, just a different one. Does she wish someone had said that to her when Ellie was born?
“Yes, I do actually, no one said anything positive to us. It was all very, very negative and handled disgustingly. Ellie has proven them all wrong.”
As Ellie writes: “I like to push myself and have others push me, too. I know I can do a lot, and I love having the opportunity to show people — especially the ones who doubt me.”
Much of Ellie’s education has been in mainstream schools and she is currently in her final year studying performing arts at New City College in Essex, where she recently starred in a production of Heathers.
It was challenging at times to ensure that Ellie got the opportunities she deserved, Yvonne says.
“Some of it was hard, we had lots of fighting, lots of battles but it got a bit better as she went through secondary school.
“In nursery and primary school, they just didn’t know what to do with her, basically. Again, she proved them wrong because, by the time she got to reception [first year of primary school], she was already reading. But most of her education has been a really good experience — you’ve got to expect the bumpy bits.”
Yvonne says she hopes the book will be helpful for parents of children with Down syndrome.
“I would like it to help other parents really and to prove that just because you have Down syndrome, it shouldn’t stop you achieving whatever you want.
“I wanted it to be very encouraging and inspirational, and for people who haven’t got children with a disability or Down syndrome just to learn about the condition.”
Ellie has always loved fashion as a means of expressing her personality, and she got the perfect opportunity to combine it with her love of performing when a family friend saw the inclusive agency Zebedee on television and suggested Ellie should contact them.
She was only 15 when they signed her up, but she was soon hired for a campaign by Superdrug. That was followed by work for River Island, Nike, Adidas, and Gucci, when she made history as the first model with Down syndrome to feature in an advert for a high-end fashion brand.
When Gucci posted Ellie’s picture on their Instagram page, it became one of their most popular posts of all time, with more than 850,000 likes.
Then in May, she was one of five disabled cover stars to feature in a groundbreaking edition of Vogue. Ellie was at college when the cover was revealed on social media.
“I was at college, and they filmed my reaction and I was nervous, I went all quiet. But then I started crying. I felt very proud of myself,” she says.
Earlier this year, Ellie was also chosen as an ambassador for the launch of the first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome.
“When they gave me the Barbie doll, Mum said to me that I was silent,” she says.
“Yeah, she was shocked, I think. I had never heard her silent,” Yvonne adds.
Ellie says she feels “privileged” to have been chosen to help launch a doll that other children with Down syndrome can relate to, and to help other children learn more about Down syndrome.
She says she wants to use her platform as a model to advocate for people with disabilities and to push the boundaries when it comes to their representation in fashion.
When it comes to the future, Ellie says the sky is the limit. She had to turn down some modelling work in the US during the pandemic, so a trip to New York is top of her wishlist.
In the meantime, she fits in her modelling around her college studies, taking it all in her stride.
“It’s not really hard, they are very supportive of me at college,” she says.
She strikes me as the kind of person who loves to be busy. “Yes. Every day of my life, I want to be out, out, out,” she says.
It sounds like a bit of a whirlwind for her mum too. “Yeah, I have to keep up,” Yvonne laughs.
When it comes to one of Ellie’s favourite pastimes, shopping, Yvonne says she occasionally takes a step back.
“Yeah, I let her go with her sister sometimes,” she says.
Ellie’s older sister Amy had a baby boy two years ago and she says she has been enjoying her duties as an auntie.
“I’m not a strict auntie, I’m a soft auntie,” she says.
While Ellie’s personality jumps off the screen, and the page, so too does her capacity for joy.
As she writes: “The world, to me, is an exciting place. I get to dance and laugh my way through it, surrounded by people I love.”
But she is honest about how, like most people, she sometimes still feels sad. Her top tips for things that make her feel better include dancing and singing in the shower.
“I like Amy Winehouse songs, like ‘Valerie’, and I love the Barbie song, ‘Dance The Night’, by Dua Lipa,” she says.
She has been practising the now-famous dance routine on TikTok, where she also has her own page. She is also in the middle of being filmed for a Channel 4 documentary.
“I can’t wait to see myself,” she says.
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