Forward 50 2018

Karlie Kloss

By Jenny Singer November 30, 2018

A Model Jewish Activist

Whether she wants it or not, supermodel, entrepreneur, activist and coder Karlie Kloss has our blessing.

This brand new addition to the tribe converted to Judaism before marrying her partner of six years, Joshua Kushner (you may be familiar with his elder brother, Jared).

Kloss, a 26-year-old St. Louis native, rocketed to success as a high fashion runway model in 2008, going on to become arguably the most successful and accomplished model of her generation. As a computer science student at New York University’s Gallatin School of Independent Studies she started coding, which her led to developing a not-for-profit charity group to teach young girls coding in an empowering environment. “Kode With Klossy,” a 2-week bootcamp that teaches teenage girls coding skills, has grown to 50 camps in 25 cities. It is entirely free for every participant, with the goal of welcoming diverse students to an otherwise exclusive world.

Kloss and Kushner are not only blindingly photogenic, with an apparently enviable relationship and more professional success than you could shake an expensive stick at — they also represent the nascent progressive wing of the Kushner family. The couple attended the Women’s March and March for Our Lives together, and Kloss has led the pair in anti-gun violence activism.

Watch out for Kloss. Already high profile, she’s steadily becoming an eshet chayil, a woman of valor.

— Jenny Singer

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

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