Before her rise to fame as a model — and Zayn Malik‘s ex-girlfriend — Gigi Hadid was known as the daughter of former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid. Throughout the early days of her career, Gigi was always photographed alongside her mom, and even made appearances on the Bravo reality series.

“When people first started to get to know me, it was like, ‘Oh, her mom was on [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]. That is her life.’ But that wasn’t my life or a part of my growing up,” Gigi explained to InStyle in February 2022. “My mom wasn’t on TV until I was a senior in high school, so I was just on my way out of the house.”

However, Gigi did say that filming the show “was weird” for her.

“I would come home from school and there would be production trucks outside,” she shared. “I would scale the staircase to my room so I wouldn’t have to go say hi to my mom in the kitchen … [I was] just like, ‘I’m going to go do homework.'”

Over the years, Gigi has gushed over her great relationship with her mom, and even revealed that Yolanda refers to her as the “brain” of their family.

“My brother is half and half. Whatever the family dinner-table discussion is, Bella [Hadid] will be very emotional and compassionate, and I’m sitting there pulling up charts and infographics, speaking very calmly,” Gigi explained to Harper’s Bazaar in July 2021. “My mom is just very Dutch and to the point.”

Similarly, Yolanda has praised Gigi multiple times — especially after the model welcomed her daughter, Khai, with ex Zayn.

“The most joy is my granddaughter, Khai. I feel like my mom came back in this little miniature, incredible little human being,” Yolanda gushed to Entertainment Tonight in October 2022. “She does things and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s my mom.’ She loves everything. Nature, horses, the little ants, she’s careful with everything. She’s just the joy of my life and actually the whole family.”

Click through our gallery to see the sweetest throwback photos of Gigi and Yolanda. 

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