INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Madeline Stuart: Model With Down Syndrome Stuns In Wedding Photo Shoot

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 14:26 PST, Mar 15, 2016

Madeline Stuart, the first ever supermodel with Down syndrome, recently stunned in a new wedding photo shoot.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Madeline, who enjoys dancing, cheerleading, and gymnastics, decided she wanted to make a career out of modeling last year when she started living a healthier lifestyle. According to her mother Rosanne Stuart, Madeline has been very active since she was a young girl, but she later started putting on a little weight that made her uncomfortable.

“She wanted to do cartwheels and handstands but because she was too heavy she couldn’t,” Roseanne said during a May 2015 interview. “So Maddy wanted to get healthy and get more physical.”

Madeline achieved her goal of getting in shape, and then set her eyes on a new goal — modeling. Stuart saw a fashion show and told her mom she wanted to be a model. Being the supportive mother she is, Roseanne set up a photo shoot for her daughter, and as they say, the rest is history.

Now, the 19-year-old, who was born with Down syndrome, is hoping to change the way people view “normal” and people with disabilities.

“I am a model, I hope through modelling I can change societies view of people with Disabilities, exposure is creating awareness, acceptance and inclusion,” Madeline’s Facebook profile reads.

Since Madeline launched her modeling career last year, she has remained busy in the industry. She has had the pleasure of walking during New York Fashion Week for two years in a row, and she was recently approached by Isadora Martin-Dye, the owner of a wedding venue in Virginia called Rixey Manor, to take part in a wedding photo shoot. The dresses were all designed by designer Ava Laurenne, and the gorgeous photos were taken by photographer Sarah Houston, according to Today.

“The wedding industry is set up to intimidate brides and couples. It’s set up to where they feel like they can’t do it,” Martin-Dye said. “I guess my whole thing was that I wanted to show that anybody on that day in that dress is the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen.”

Having the opportunity to model wedding gowns was a dream come true for Madeline, and although she got to try on a number of beautiful wedding dresses, there was one that caught her eye.

“There was one dress that she put on and she had that moment that I had when I put on my wedding dress,” Martin-Dye said. “She wouldn’t let her mom come in because she kind of wanted to do that reveal first look with her mom when she saw her in the dress for the first time.”

Michelle Lieb, a photographer who was also at the photo shoot, talked about what a creative and caring person Madeline is, and also gave a behind-the-scenes look on her personal website.

“First, Madeline is so expressive and creative,” Lieb said. “She often used books, albums and other things around Rixey Manor to bring to me and express her wishes. She is incredibly observant! Second, she is so very compassionate. We were sharing animal stories after she fed the horses with Ben Rinder outside of Rixey Manor and when we talked about pets we loved and lost, I mentioned my sweet cat of 16 years who had passed and Madeline looked at me with these big eyes that were about to well up with tears and placed her arm around me and gave me a big hug.”

[Photo by Chance Yeh / Stringer / Getty Images]

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