Jessica Kahawaty, the Dubai-based Australian-Lebanese model and former international pageant contender, returned to Sydney this week looking noticeably different from images fans remember from a decade ago as she promoted a new family cookbook.
Kahawaty, 36, who placed second runner-up at Miss World 2012, was photographed in the city following a signing for the cookbook Mama Rita at Dymocks. Observers and longtime followers pointed to several changes in her appearance, including a lighter chestnut hair colour replacing her earlier inky black tone, fuller lips, a deeper tan and what appear to be more upturned eyelid angles and more pronounced eyelids when wearing makeup. She was seen strolling through the central business district with her mother, Rita, in both a pink mini dress with orange lace stockings and later in a white button-down and black mini skirt.
Kahawaty has lived and worked in the Gulf for several years, a period in which her public image has continued to evolve. She hosts Project Runway Middle East and regularly appears at fashion and media events in Dubai, where she has embraced a golden tan and frequent changes in eye colour through contact lenses, according to past interviews and recent photographs.
The model has not publicly confirmed undergoing cosmetic procedures. In interviews dating back to 2017, Kahawaty described a disciplined skincare routine that includes washing her face twice daily with activated charcoal cleansers, using natural products such as jojoba oil and Dead Sea masks, and employing DIY treatments like sugar and cinnamon lip scrubs. She has also said she drinks warm water with Manuka honey each morning and abstains from coffee.
Kahawaty has previously been compared in the media to figures such as Amal Clooney, with the comparison drawing on perceived style, charitable work and professional background, though media coverage has focused primarily on Kahawaty’s modelling and media career. She has spoken publicly about her Lebanese family roots and her love of cooking, which informed the publication of Mama Rita, a project she was promoting during the Sydney visit.
Her rise began on the international pageant circuit in the early 2010s. Since then Kahawaty has diversified into hosting and modelling across the Middle East and Australia, maintaining a visible social-media presence that documents both professional assignments and aspects of her personal beauty regimen. Public reaction to her recent return to Australia has centered on the striking evolution of her look over the past decade and the contrast between earlier and current photographs.
Kahawaty’s visit to Sydney this week combined publicity for the cookbook with family appearances; she was photographed with her mother after the Dymocks signing. Media coverage of her appearance underscores how long-running public careers in fashion and media can involve significant shifts in styling and presentation as individuals move between markets and roles.