No person should ever be treated differently just because they look different.
Unfortunately, this is something that happens all the time, among both children and adults, and it is never acceptable. Just ask Ilka Brühl, who was born with ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affected her facial structure.
The German girl was called cruel names in school and eventually wished she could make herself invisible. At the same time, she was a fantastic student and ultimately realized she could help others by sharing her own story.
Today, Ilka is a model and published author. Through social media and a podcast she runs, she aims to encourage people to see their own beauty and accept one another for who they are.
This is her incredible story, and what she looks like today at age 30.
Ilka Brühl No person should ever be treated differently just because they look different.
Sadly, this is something that happens constantly, to both children and adults, and it is never acceptable. Just ask Ilka Brühl, who was born with ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affected her facial structure.
The German girl was mocked with awful names in school and eventually wished she could disappear. At the same time, she excelled academically and later realized she could help others by telling her story.
Today, Ilka is a model and published author. Through social media and her podcast, she works to inspire people to recognize their own beauty and accept others for who they are.
This is her remarkable story, and what she looks like today at 30.
Ilka Brühl Instagram/ilkabruehl Now, I want you—the person reading this—to take a moment to reflect on your life at 16. Personally, I have plenty of memories from that time, both good and bad. But overall, it was a period when many things were changing. There were more hormones, overwhelming emotions, and sometimes even mental challenges I had to face.
Ilka Brühl – born with ectodermal dysplasia Overall, I hope it was a positive time in your life, as it was in mine.
Now imagine that at 16, you were called “Freak,” “Alien,” or “Pig Nose.” Imagine that no one wanted to play with you at school, and when other children saw you, they pointed and laughed.
Most of us have never experienced such cruelty. For German girl Ilka Brühl, however, it was an everyday reality.
Ilka was born with a cleft nose and lips. This condition, called ectodermal dysplasia, is a rare genetic disorder that affects facial structure.
She lived with the deformity for a long time before undergoing surgery to correct it.
Afterward, though, she realized her appearance wasn’t defined by her condition at all. Instead, Ilka understood that beauty couldn’t be created through surgery—and she learned to accept her face as it was.
Today, Ilka is a role model for millions of people worldwide. Through her work, she hopes to help others.
Ilka Brühl – early life Up until the day she was born in January 1992, Ilka Brühl’s parents believed their daughter was completely healthy. And she was. However, doctors noticed the little girl had trouble breathing. The airways in her nose had become blocked for some reason.
This required emergency surgery, and surgeons operated on her cleft palate. By then, it was clear that something was “different” about little Ilka.
School can be a harsh place for many children. Unfortunately, Ilka learned this better than most. Children at her school didn’t understand that she was just like everyone else, even if her face looked a bit unusual.
According to reports, kids at school asked questions about her appearance and laughed at her.
“At first I thought: How else am I supposed to look? That’s how I am! But then I consciously looked in the mirror and realized that my nose is different. Then you start questioning yourself,” she told German newspaper Kurier.
Even though she was a beautiful little girl, the bullies were relentless. They called her names like “Freak,” “Alien,” and “Pig Nose,” and never wanted to play with her.
“As a child, I often had eye infections because my tear duct wasn’t developed, and headaches because my paranasal sinuses were very susceptible to moisture,” Ilka said.
“But I was always able to live with the symptoms.”
Didn’t want photos of herself at home She added: “My parents always made me feel that I was fine the way I was. As a child, I could confidently counter stupid comments or looks. Still, the question came up during puberty: ‘If I’m supposed to be so normal—why don’t you see people like me anywhere?’”
Ilka even intentionally made silly faces in photos so her parents wouldn’t hang them up at home.
“That was my avoidance strategy,” she said. “If I look so silly in photos that my mom won’t hang them up, then I don’t have to see them either.”
When Ilka became a teenager, she developed even more self-doubt—not only because of what she heard at school, but also because of commercials on television. Companies constantly put out ads that shaped society’s ideas of beauty, she recalled, and Ilka felt she wasn’t represented anywhere. As a result, she felt ashamed of showing her face, saying it felt even more embarrassing than showing herself naked.
Despite hearing many cruel things at school, she refused to let anyone break her. Ilka was a straight‑A student and earned the best grades in her year. “It was like a kind of double life,” she recalled.
Everything changed before her photoshoot Because of her low self-esteem and lack of confidence, Ilka struggled to make friends.
She underwent ten operations, and although she had trouble accepting herself, things eventually began to improve. She realized she wasn’t worth less than anyone else and soon grew into a confident woman who wanted to inspire others.
Everything changed in 2014 when she was on her way to her first photoshoot.
“On the way to [the photographer], I was on the verge of turning around several times because I was so terrified she would laugh at me when she saw me in real life,” she wrote, as reported by Insider.
“Being in front of the camera showed me: Every defect and every mistake is a part of you, and that’s okay too. You just have to make the most of it,” she added.
When Ilka was 20, she underwent nose correction surgery. It was mostly for medical reasons, but before the operation, she believed the procedure would finally give her the courage to love herself.
After the surgery, though, things turned out differently.
“If you accept yourself, then you can shine from within” “As soon as the wounds healed, I noticed the next blemish. At that moment I realized: Beauty cannot be created on the operating table,” Ilka told BILD.
“For me, [beauty] is all about appearance. If you accept yourself, then you can shine from within—and that’s nicer than the most perfect person who doesn’t like themselves.”
Instead of undergoing more surgeries, Ilka realized there were other ways to grow besides changing her appearance. It wasn’t about others seeing her as “normal,” but about learning to accept herself.
“I approached people more openly and learned to like myself. And I noticed: Others don’t withdraw from me at all—I withdraw from them!”
Ilka knew she looked “different,” but she didn’t see that as negative. Instead, she wanted to embrace her differences. She realized she could help others accept themselves and wanted to share insights into her life and struggles.
So Ilka released a podcast focused on how she handles self-doubt. She also gives tips on becoming more self-loving. She even published her book Differently Beautiful – How I Learned to Love Myself.
Back in 2018, she and a couple of friends started Project Grenzenlos—translated as Project Limitless. The campaign’s purpose is to highlight the beauty of people with deformities and other differences. For Ilka, it aligns perfectly with her view of beauty.
Ilka Brühl today – pictures On Instagram, she wrote: “I think EVERYBODY is beautiful in his own way. I often read comments like ‘You are not pretty just because you’re different,’ and that’s totally right! I am pretty because EVERYBODY is pretty. Never mind if you are a classic beauty, tall, small, stout, thin, Black, white.”
Ilka shares her story and insights into her life through her blog and Instagram. Recently, she has worked on a children’s book, and on several occasions, she has shared childhood photos of herself.
“I decided to show a baby photo of me because you can see my ‘defect’ better there. I also get many direct messages asking why I look the way I do,” she wrote.
“At first, I hesitated because some of you think that’s too much. But that is wrong—it should be as normal as any other baby picture.”
She added in a Facebook post: “Everyone who knows me can confirm that this is really important to me and that I want to help others. I want to help those with defects, as well as parents of babies who fear whether their child will be accepted in the world.”
After Project Grenzenlos aired in 2018, Ilka began receiving more and more modeling jobs—and she looks fantastic!
Today, Ilka has become a significant role model for many. Her journey is deeply inspirational, and through her social media, people around the world get to share in her daily life. As of now, she has over 33,000 followers on Instagram.
Married her beloved Philip Not only has Ilka become a role model for others and accepted her own appearance—she has also found the love of her life.
Last year, she married her now-husband Philip, and they look incredibly happy together.
Ilka shared a picture of herself on Instagram wearing her wedding dress.
“The wedding itself was indescribably beautiful for me. When I woke up the next day, I couldn’t believe how wonderfully everything went,” Ilka wrote.
“Sunny weather, everyone in a good mood, and my husband (still want to say friend) looked so amazing. I was so emotional and shed so many tears. Loving someone so much is a great privilege, and I am infinitely grateful for it. I’m so looking forward to everything that’s to come. I just can’t believe how lucky I am to call such a great person my husband now.”
No person is perfect. But even if someone looks “different” or has a disability, we should always treat one another with respect.
Ilka Brühl is an inspiration, and her story deserves recognition—most importantly because it can help others. Please share this article with friends and family on Facebook to honor Ilka Brühl.
