Jillian Mercado

Jillian Mercado is a wheelchair user who is a fashion model represented by IMG Models, one of the few professional disabled models in the fashion industry.Mercado was born and raised in New York. Diagnosed with spastic muscular dystrophy as a child, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and during her time in college, Mercado completed internships at Veranda, Allure magazine, and with the society photographer Patrick McMullan. Her first campaign for Diesel Jeans in 2014, for which she was selected by Nicola Formichetti, was a success that subsequently landed her a modelling contract with IMG in August 2015.