Bella Hadid marked her ninth consecutive year at the Cannes Film Festival this week, extending a streak that now spans nearly her entire professional career as a model.
She posted on Instagram with a caption that read, “Nine years of my favorite week,” accompanied by a film camera emoji and a tag to the official Cannes account. The post drew over 541,000 likes.
Nine consecutive years at Cannes is a specific kind of staying power. Hadid arrived on the festival circuit as a rising name, still finding her voice in the industry. She’s since become one of the most consistent presences at the event, a model whose return each May is expected rather than surprising. That shift, from newcomer to familiar fixture, is its own kind of accomplishment.
The Croisette in May is a demanding environment. The red carpets are the part people see. The schedule behind them is something else entirely. Fittings stacked on fittings, premieres running late into the night. For a model, Cannes is a showcase, but it’s also hard work. The fact that Hadid genuinely seems to love it is worth pausing on.
Her journey across those nine years has covered real ground. She became one of the most-booked runway models of her era, walking for major houses in Paris and Milan. Her Cannes appearances became a reliable part of the festival’s fashion conversation. That kind of presence doesn’t arrive ready-made. It gets built through years of showing up and learning how to carry yourself through it with some sense of self intact.
She also stepped away. In 2022 and 2023, Hadid took meaningful time off from modeling to focus on her health. She spoke publicly about her experience with Lyme disease and what years of relentless work had taken from her. Her return to fashion since has felt different: more selective, more grounded. Cannes, apparently, remains one of the commitments she keeps choosing.
Nine straight appearances at the same festival, through career peaks and personal difficulty and a public re-emergence, add up to something. Not every high-profile model makes it back year after year. Hadid has, and she keeps calling it her favorite.
How she marked the occasion is telling. Nine years is a milestone that could have warranted a full retrospective. She offered four words and an emoji. There’s a quiet confidence in that kind of restraint. It’s the response of someone who doesn’t need the anniversary to announce itself.
For the younger models arriving in the south of France for the first time this week, Hadid is now a recognizable constant at Cannes. She once arrived the way they did, new to all of it. Nine years on, she knows exactly how this week unfolds. By all accounts, she can’t wait for it.
