Waris Dirie (Liya Kebede) is a Somalian woman who is circumcised when she is three years old, was later sold in marriage as a teenager, and left Africa. She became a supermodel after a tough life which involved many challenging adversities,such as homelessness,a situation in which she was forced to sleep on the streets. She is discovered while she is at her job,where she was working as a cleaning lady. After a short successful career in modeling, she was deported,and after realizing the truth about her life and her past, became the UN spokeswoman to make the public aware of circumcision and the ethics and abuse involved.