From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Liya Kebede (born January 3, 1978) is an Ethiopian model, maternal health advocate, clothing designer and actress who has appeared three times on the cover of US Vogue . According to Forbes, Kebede was eleventh-highest-paid top model in the world in 2007. Since 2005, Kebede has served as the WHO's Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Description above from the Wikipedia article Liya Kebede, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.