Deba Hekmat (born 14 November 2001) is a Kurdish-British model, actress, and writer. She began her career in modeling before starring in the film Last Swim (2024).
Early life
Hekmat was born in Sardasht, western Iran.[1] In 2004, her family fled to the United Kingdom, where they settled in Croydon, South London. When Hekmat was 12, the family moved again to Cardiff.[2] She left her sixth form college early and subsequently moved back to London.[3]
Career
Hekmat began modeling at the age of 16[4] and signed with Anti-Agency.[3] In 2018, she presented[5] and appeared in videos for i-D[6] and PAQ. Her other early work includes gigs with Cosmopolitan UK[7] and walking the runway for Vivienne Westwood and Vetements.[8] She starred in the Genesis II campaign for FootDistrict in 2020.[9]
In 2021, Hekmat featured in W Magazine's "Punk Fashion Goes Pop" issue,[10] led jeweler Loveness Lee's spring/summer 2021 campaign[11] and a Mulberry bag campaign,[12] and modeled the Lee x H&M collection.[13] She also had gigs with the likes of Metal Magazine.[14]
With musician Tom Austin (also known as Niko B),[15][16] Hekmat collaborated on modeling projects and campaigns for Lucozade Sport[17][18] and YOOX x Aries[19] in 2022 and 2023. Hekmat represented the star sign Cancer for the astrology-themed campaign Heaven by Marc Jacobs[20] and editorially featured on the cover of Exit's spring/summer 2022 issue.[9] Writing-wise, Hekmat has contributed to publications such as The Basement[21] and conducted an interview for the monographMia by Aries.[22]