14-year-old Mumbai slum girl chosen as new face of luxury beauty brand Forest Essentials

A 14-year-old girl from Mumbai’s Dharavi Slum, Maleesha Kharwa, has been chosen as the face of luxury beauty brand Forest Essentials’ new campaign ‘The Yuvati Collection’.

Maleesha was discovered by Hollywood actor Robert Hoffman in 2020 when he was shooting a music video in India’s commercial capital. He later set up a Go Fund Me page for the girl. She now has more than 2.25 lakh followers on Instagram and often adds the hashtag #princessfromtheslum to her posts. She has done some modelling assignments as well.

Forest Essentials has given her another break with its new campaign ‘Yuvati Selection’, which is a social initiative that aims to “empower young minds”.

In April, Forest Essentials shared a video on Instagram that showed the teen model entering their store which had her campaign photos. While sharing the clip, the brand wrote, “Her face lit up with pure delight, To see her dreams in front of her in sight. Maleesha’s story is a beautiful reminder that dreams really do come true. #BecauseYourDreamsMatter”.