Little Did You Know: 8 not-so-obvious facts about the Hadid family

Before the glitz and the glam and the fashion, there was one modest family with Palestinian roots growing up on a farm in Santa Barbara, the U.S. People tend to focus on the gorgeous models Gigi and Bella, but how much do we know of their own father Mohamed, who built his way up from nothing after his parents migrated to the U.S. when he was 18 months old? 

The real estate developer has been vocal about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on numerous occasions and even raised his children to be the same. Models Gigi, Bella, and Anwar Hadid have continuously called out Israeli crimes and expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine on social media and even by marching down protests. 

Here are eight little known facts about the family: 

Mohamed Hadid believed in passing down his roots so much so that he knew he had to include Arabic in his kids' names. Gigi's full name is Jelena Noura Hadid, Bella's Isabella Khair Hadid, and Anwar's Mohamed Anwar Hadid. 

People have always been curious about the Hadid family's descent, and after a trip back to his homeland, Mohamed detailed it all. His mother is a descendant of Daher Al Omar, the Prince of Nazareth and Sheik of Galilee.

At the time, the Nazareth district was well-known for supporting inter-faith living between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. After the 1948 war which displaced millions of Palestinians, Mohamed's family migrated to Syria because his father, Anwar Hadid, did not want them to live under the Israeli occupation. 

Hadid also explained how his family sheltered a Jewish refugee family from Poland - one nobody else would take in - at their home in Safed. Two years later, the Polish family kicked them out and made the Hadids refugees.

While social media may have aided Gigi's quick rise to fame in the modeling industry, some may be surprised to know her earliest modeling days were when she was just 2 years old, most notably as the face of Baby Guess.

However, her mother Yolanda was not very keen on the impact the limelight might have on her daughter's mental and physical health, so she made her take a step back from the camera till she was 18 years old.

The father, Mohamed Hadid, is a multi-millionaire real estate developer. He started his career restoring and reselling classic cars in Washington, DC. Later on, he temporarily moved to Greece, opened a nightclub on an island, and started a real estate developing agency back in California, U.S. 

Bella once said she never wanted to be a model, and loved horseback riding ever since she was a little girl. When she was a teenager, Bella was an equestrian and wanted to join the 2016 Rio Olympics, but she was forced to back down due to her Lyme disease. 

Gigi, on the other hand, is extremely into boxing, and started studying criminal psychology at The New School in New York, but also paused due to her work obligations. 

And lastly, Anwar is into natural medicine and is a public speaker on the many benefits of vitamins and minerals. 

In 1992, Hadid competed at the Winter Olympics, representing Jordan in the sport of speed skiing, after his friend Austrian Olympic skier Franz Weber motivated him to. To this day, he remains the only person who has ever represented Jordan at the Winter Olympics. 

In a candid interview with Porter magazine in 2017, Hadid opened up about her views on religion for the first time. 

"My dad was a refugee when he first came to America, so it's actually very close to home for my sister and brother and me. He was always religious, and he always prayed with us," she said. "I am proud to be a Muslim."

Hadid also joined protestors in London against Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the illegitimate occupying state.

Marielle and Alana are Mohamed Hadid's daughters from his first wife, Mary Butler. The two half-sisters lead a more regular life, away from limelight