Heini Wathén signed with a modelling agency after winning several beauty pageants in Finland at 17 years old. She graduated from secondary school in 1975 and joined her sister in Paris as a model. She returned to Finland two years later to compete in the Miss Finland contest, but did not make it to the finals.[1]
During the Miss Finland contest Wathén met Dodi Fayed, who was looking for new models in Finland. Fayed arranged for Wathén to model for Pierre Balmain's fashion house.[1]
Personal life
In Paris, Dodi Fayed introduced Wathén to his father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, who began a relationship with her. Al-Fayed soon invited Wathén to live with him on Park Lane in London. The couple married in 1985, thus Heini Wathén-Fayed became a stepmother to Dodi Fayed.[1]
Wathén-Fayed has four children with Mohamed Al-Fayed.[3][4][5][6]
Wathén-Fayed and Al-Fayed lived in Surrey and at a mansion in Westend, Espoo, Finland.[1] Al-Fayed died on 30 August 2023, at the age of 94 in London.[7]