The inspirational Jillian Mercado is an actress, fashion model, and activist. Due to muscular dystrophy and being a wheelchair user, she is one of the few professional models with a visible physical disability working in the fashion industry.

Born and raised in New York City, Mercado was diagnosed with spastic muscular dystrophy as a child. She grew up with a love for fashion and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology to study fashion merchandising. She completed internships at Veranda, and Allure magazine, and worked as a volunteer during New York’s Fashion Week, covering events for PMc Magazine.

Mercado began her modelling career when she was selected by the artistic director of Diesel Nicola Formichetti to feature in a 2014 campaign for the label. She then landed a modelling contract with IMG in 2015, and went on to work on several campaigns for Nordstorm, and CR Fashion Book. Currently represented by CAA, she has gone on to work for Beyonce’s official website, Target, and has appeared in such publications as Glamour, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Posture Magazine. As an actress, she secured the role of Maribel in the 2019 TV drama The L Word: Generation Q.

Mercado regularly connects with her hundreds of thousands followers and fans through Instagram, and Twitter, posting pictures and videos of her modelling life. She is also available for that personalised shout-out via the Cameo platform.