Karlie Kloss

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
