Alek Wek (born 16 April 1977) is a South Sudanese-British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995.

Long periods of walking caused Athian's hip to get infected, and upon the family's return to Wau, he became paralysed and endured a haemorrhage.

She appeared in the music video for "GoldenEye" by Tina Turner that year, and shortly thereafter began fashion modeling.

[11] She has appeared on the cover of American, French, German and South African Elle as well as i-D, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Forbes Magazine Africa and Ebony.

[13] In September 2015, Alek walked for Marc Jacobs at Spring/Summer 2016 New York Fashion Week, later appearing in the label's Spring Summer 2016 campaign.

She is a missionary for World Vision, an organisation which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, and devotes time to UNICEF.

[21] In 2007, she released an autobiography, entitled Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel, documenting her journey from a childhood of poverty in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.

[1] She was in a relationship with Riccardo Sala, an Italian real estate developer, for twelve years; they separated in 2013.