Rebekah Marine Paster (born January 7, 1987[1]), also known as The Bionic Model, is an American model and motivational speaker. She is a congenital amputee and was born without a right forearm.
Rebekah Marine | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1987 |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Bionic Model |
Personal life
editMarine is from Woodbury, New Jersey and graduated from Woodbury Junior-Senior High School in 2005.[2][3] She was born with symbrachydactyly, a congenital condition that left her without a right forearm.[4] Marine received an academic scholarship to Rowan University, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing.[5]
Marine married in 2018, wearing a customized gold prosthetic.[6] She was featured in season 17 of TLC's show, Say Yes to the Dress, airing in 2019.[7]
Career
editMarine began modeling when she was 22, after completing her college degree.[3] Wearing an I-LIMB hand by TouchBionics, for which she is an ambassador, Marine calls herself "The Bionic Model".[8]
Marine was featured in Nordstom's 2015 Anniversary catalog and has walked in the New York Fashion Week on multiple occasions.[9][10] In 2015, she walked the runway for Indian fashion designer Archana Kochhar.[11] She has also modeled designs by Antonio Urzi.[12] In 2016, Marine walked in the Runway of Dreams Gala and Fashion Show in New York City, an event meant to raise awareness of the need for adaptive clothing, to showcase new designs from Tommy Hilfiger for people who have disabilities.[13]
Marine is an ambassador for the Lucky-Fin Project, a nonprofit organization that supports those with upper limb differences.[2][8] In this role, she gives motivational speeches across the United States on the topics of self-love and embracing differences.[3][8]
References
edit- ^ "Rebekah Marine Paster on Instagram: "Throwback to when tee ball was LIFE. @jimabbott always and forever a favorite! 👋🏻⚾️ #tbt"". Instagram.
- ^ a b Adams, Char (September 2, 2015). "Rebekah Marine to Walk in New York Fashion Week With Bionic Arm". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c Rohcace, Kelly (January 17, 2019). "Rebekah Marine: Making diversity beautiful". NJ.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Burney, Melanie (September 8, 2015). "A model of perseverance". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. B01. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "Bionic model. Inspirational speaker. Humanitarian". Rowan Today. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Moye, David (April 23, 2018). "The Bride With The Golden Arm". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Adams, Char (February 28, 2018). "Model Born Without Forearm Faces Her Fear of Marriage and Stars on Say Yes to the Dress: I 'Learned to Love Myself First'". People. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c Most, Anne (September 16, 2015). "Meet The Bionic Model Who Walked In New York Fashion Week". Time. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Wilbur, Hayley (September 1, 2015). "Model with bionic arm will walk at New York Fashion Week". Mashable. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Adams, Char (February 18, 2016). "Model with One Arm Walks NYFW with Little Girl Born the Same Way". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Caiazzo, Federica (December 22, 2015). "Rebekah Marine – Vogue.it". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Walano, Rose (September 3, 2015). "Meet the Model With a Bionic Arm That's Walking the Runway at New York Fashion Week". US Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "'Bionic Model' Rebekah Marine fights for fashion diversity, adaptive clothing". Retrieved September 14, 2020.