Girl, 8, who refused to look at herself in the mirror because of severe eczema that turned her skin purple lands a modelling job with M&S
- Macy Foley-Speakman, from Warrington, has had eczema since she was a baby
- Her mother, Maxine, 42, said her daughter ‘would just refuse to look at herself’
- She reached out to a charity who put her in touch with M&S, who took her on
- Youngster subsequently landed a modelling contract with an inclusive agency
An eight-year-old girl who suffers from severe eczema has landed her dream job modelling for M&S.
Macy Foley-Speakman, from Warrington, Cheshire, has been snapped by the retailer wearing clothes designed specifically for people with her condition.
It comes after the youngster heart-breakingly told her mum Maxine, 42, that she doesn’t like looking at herself in the mirror.
Macy Foley-Speakman, from Warrington, Cheshire, has been snapped by the retailer wearing clothes designed specifically for people with her condition. Snapped at the M&S shoot
Macy started to suffer from the skin condition when she was three months old and it sometimes gets so severe that passers by in the street stare at her, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Maxine added that the youngster’s confidence took a huge hit, especially when strangers would ask her if she had chicken pocks.
‘People don’t realise how hard it is. Macy would ask why people are staring and then she stopped looking in the mirror, she would just refuse to look at herself,’ her mum told the Echo.
Maxine was forced to give up her full time job as a nursery nurse eight years ago to care for her daughter and in that time has tried to learn everything about the condition.
It comes after the youngster heart-breakingly told her mum Maxine, 42, that she doesn’t like looking at herself in the mirror, pictured here posing for the high street giant
Poor Macy has to have lotion applied to her skin seven times a day and it sometimes become so bad her skin turns purple.
Despite this, the youngster is positive and her school classmates are supportive. Maxine said she was almost ‘moved to tears’ by her pals, who stop her scratching when she has an itch.
‘Her school and headteacher have been really understanding and she has never been bullied. Her friends even hold her hands when she’s itchy to stop her from scratching,’ she said, adding that Macy wears a special uniform so as to not upset her skin.
Poor Macy has to have lotion applied to her skin seven times a day and it sometimes become so bad her skin turns purple
The youngster is positive and her school classmates are supportive. Maxine said she was almost ‘moved to tears’ by her pals, who stop her scratching when she has an itch
A turning point in the youngster’s life came when she was watching TV with her mother and said ‘no one looks like me,’ but instead of getting down about it she decided to become a model championing the fight against her condition.
Her great-grandmother, Jean Guinan, modelled for M&S in the 1960s and when representatives of the Eczema Outreach Support charity came to give a talk in Macy’s school she told them of her fashion dream, and they approached the high street brand.
M&S, who advertise eczema-friendly clothing line DreamSkin, obliged and took Macy in for a shoot – even contacting a modelling agency who subsequently signed the school girl.
Her great-grandmother, Jean Guinan, modelled for M&S in the 1960s. She passed away in 2017 but Macy still talks about her, saying: ‘Nana Jean would love this!’
Macy, who starts with the agency in February, had ‘the time of her life’ at the shoot even saying: “Nana Jean would love this!”‘ according to her mum.
Maxine added: ‘Her skin is too sensitive for makeup but she doesn’t mind. She likes herself, she smiles and likes what she sees when she looks in the mirror.’
The proud mum said her daughter will be the first model at the agency,Zebedee, with severe eczema and said: ‘It would be a great platform to show what eczema can look like as people often think it’s a dry patch of skin and not that it can be a debilitating condition.’
Maxine added: ‘Her skin is too sensitive for makeup but she doesn’t mind. She likes herself, she smiles and likes what she sees when she looks in the mirror’
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