Firth attracted attention when, in 2013, she was booked as the first black model in nearly 20 years to appear in a Prada advertising campaign.

Firth was born in Mombasa, Kenya and brought up in Barking, a suburban town in East London, when she was seven years old.

[4] Her father, Eric, is of British, Seychellois and Ugandan descent,[citation needed] and mother, Jecinta, is half-Kenyan and half-Swiss.

When Malaika talks about her family you get a glimpse of her ambition, but also of a rootedness that might save her from her industry’s worst excesses.

She has not been back to Barking since she "blew up" – the family has all moved to Kenya, so there are no ties to east London left.

She gained attention from the fashion industry after walking in the SS2014 Prada menswear show and starring in the Prada-fall 2013 campaign, which also featured Christy Turlington, Catherine McNeil, Cameron Russell, Freja Beha Erichsen, Fei Fei Sun and Rachel Williams and was shot by Steven Meisel.

[7][9][10] With this feat, she became the first Black model in 19 years to score a Prada campaign.

[4][11][7] Meanwhile, Firth experienced her runway-breakthrough with the fashion week for the Spring/Summer 2014 collections, walking more than 40 shows, including shows from Jean Paul Gaultier, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Dolce & Gabbana among others.