Helena Christensen
About Helena
Model and photographer Helena Christensen has supported UNHCR since 2014.
As well as being one of the world’s most recognisable faces, Helena has also carved out a respected and distinguished international career in photography. Helena is using her creativity to work with UNHCR to tell refugee stories and strengthen the voices of the displaced.
Helena travelled with UNHCR to Rwanda in October 2018, meeting refugees who recently fled violence and persecution in Burundi. She supported UNHCR’s call for further funds to deliver shelter, food and daily needs for one of the world's most forgotten and underfunded refugee crises.
In March 2017 Helena travelled with UNHCR to Ukraine to capture some of the stories of the near one million people internally displaced by conflict in the east of the country, over 500, 000 of whom are vulnerable and elderly. Here Helena met Oleg, a true superhero who risks his life to help those forced to flee as a result of the conflict. Helena shared her reflections on the visit in the international media and via her personal Instagram account.
Ahead of World Refugee Day 2015, Helena travelled with us to Colombia to document internally displaced women living in rural and urban environments, including the slums on the outskirts of Bogota. Helena said: “I wanted to use my skills to create a platform for these women’s stories which are both shocking and inspiring." Helena’s images were featured in publications across the world.
Helena contributed to an important social media film that highlighted important differences between refugees and migrants, as well as the different protection they are entitled to under international law.
