( CNN ) -- Somalian supermodel Waris Dirie has graced the pages of glossy magazines and starred opposite 007 as a Bond Girl . Face for change : Dirie is a tireless campaigner against FGM . But her glamorous appearances on catwalks and in magazines and films belies the personal battles Dirie has had to overcome . Dirie is a leading voice against forced circumcision and female genital mutilation ( FGM ) and struggled to overcome her own circumcision at the age of five . The forthcoming film , `` Desert Flower '' , based on her biography , tells her story . Yet it is through her charitable foundation that Dirie hopes that the practice still common in traditions in parts of Africa , the Middle East , South American and Asia will not create more cases similar to her own . Growing up with a nomadic family in Somalia she was one of 12 children . She fled to the London , where one of her uncles was working in the Somali embassy , to avoid an arranged marriage with an older man . She was just 13-years-old at the time . After working as a housemaid and in a McDonald 's restaurant she was spotted by chance by fashion photographer Terrance Donovan and became the covergirl for the 1987 Pirelli calendar . Becoming the face of beauty products and design houses , her successful modeling career has given her a life far removed from her childhood . Yet for Dirie more importantly it has created a platform to campaign against FGM . In 2002 she created the Waris Dirie Foundation and has been given a number of honors in recognition of her work .
Somalian feminist and human rights activist . Campaigns against female genital mutilation ; died at age just five . Fled from Somali to UK as a teenager ; spotted by fashion photographer . Set up Waris Dirie Agency in 2002 ; received numerous award for her work .