Bailey Best is 26-years-old. She loves sports and modeling. She also has Down syndrome. This week, she saw Puerto Rican model Sofia Jirau break barriers as Victoria's Secret's first model with Down syndrome.
"When I saw that," Best said. "Just an amazing girl, and just showing her passion, and I think she rocks!"
"If a young woman wants to get into modeling, or any genre she wants to get into, it's not a possibility," Bailey's mom Kellie Best said. "It's more than a dream. It's happened."
"I can't be more excited for this young lady and all the other young ladies that will come after her," Bailey's dad Brent Best said. "It shows how far we've come in the last 10, 20, 30 years."
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Best recently signed a modeling contract with Esoterica Studios.
When Best was born, Down syndrome took a back seat to survival. She was born 3-months premature, weighing just 1 pound, 8ounces.
"I just wanted my child to live," Kellie Best said. "The struggles are real, but the rewards are even better."
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The Best family is the March of Dimes ambassador family. They're also advocates for Down syndrome. Bailey is a member of the Adult Advisory Council for the Down Syndrome Guild, and the National Down Syndrome Congress.
"I want her to be successful," Brent Best said. "Her success may look a little different than somebody else's, but success is found at all different levels, and we need that."'
Inclusiveness doesn't just benefit those with Down syndrome.
"They have a lot to offer with Down syndrome, just like we do," Brent Best said. "I think these opportunities are going to continue to grow, and you're going to see tremendous outcomes from this."
