{"id":14352,"date":"2025-09-13T18:47:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T18:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/14352\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T18:47:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T18:47:19","slug":"sun-mizrahis-year-of-rebellion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/14352\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun Mizrahi&#8217;s year of rebellion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>She became Israel\u2019s most successful model, but just as she reached the top, <a id=\"r17LcGONQixl\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/topics\/Sun_MIzrahi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sun Mizrahi<\/a> found herself in the midst of a personal crisis. After nine years together, she separated from her husband, put her modeling career on hold, and went searching for absolute freedom. <\/p>\n<p>In a candid interview with Ynet, she speaks about her father, Israeli soccer player Alon Mizrahi\u2019s reaction to her divorce, why she turned down an offer to appear on Big Brother Israel and how she has been rebuilding herself.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.S1eT7oMgsxl\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.S1eT7oMgsxl\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.S1eT7oMgsxl\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rJ8Uc11A5gx_0_153_2362_1329_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;\u05d0\u05e3 \u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d3\u05e2  \u05de\u05d4 \u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e2\u05d5\u05d1\u05e8\u05ea&quot;.  \u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9  | \u05e6\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05dd:  \u05e9\u05d9 \u05db\u05d4\u05df \u05d0\u05e8\u05d1\u05dc\" title=\"Sun Mizrahi  (Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel) \" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.S1eT7oMgsxl\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rJ8Uc11A5gx_0_153_2362_1329_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;\u05d0\u05e3 \u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d3\u05e2  \u05de\u05d4 \u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e2\u05d5\u05d1\u05e8\u05ea&quot;.  \u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9  | \u05e6\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05dd:  \u05e9\u05d9 \u05db\u05d4\u05df \u05d0\u05e8\u05d1\u05dc\" title=\"Sun Mizrahi  (Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel) \" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sun Mizrahi <\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel)<\/p>\n<p>In frozen New York, the confident walk of Sun Mizrahi\u2014who in just three years became one of the most prominent Israeli faces on the international stage, with campaigns for Chanel, Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta, Christian Dior, Zara and Victoria\u2019s Secret\u2014came to a sudden halt. Inside, she says, she was unraveling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt like I needed to say stop,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI wasn\u2019t at the right measurements, I developed acne and I was in an emotional crisis. I was supposed to be radiant and uplifting, but I was in a state of mourning. Together with my agents, we decided I needed to breathe. After four years of working like an animal, I was allowed a moment for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What was going on inside you?<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019d say there was a gap in my connection to myself. All the exclamation points I once had about who I am turned into question marks\u2014including my marriage. I needed to allow myself more freedom, and that led, among other things, <a id=\"HyVL5MdEXjxg\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/culture\/article\/rkleyzkgyg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">to the divorce<\/a>. The relationship just didn\u2019t fit us anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She met her ex-husband at 17, married him five years later, and spent nine years together, four of them married, often splitting time between Israel and Paris. The end came in one decisive conversation, the culmination of two years of therapy and self-discovery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe day I felt ready to talk, I was tense. I said things as they were\u2014I don\u2019t even remember the wording. It was very hard. The emotional separation had started earlier, but I didn\u2019t have the tools to communicate it. By the time I brought it up, I had already gone through a very long process of thought and reflection, without any impulsiveness. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one knew what I was going through\u2014maybe just my therapist. Not my family, not my friends. I was terrified of what it would bring\u2014people saying I had \u2018the beauty queen syndrome,\u2019 our families\u2019 disappointment, friends in shock. If I\u2019d heard outside objections, it would have made it even harder. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe breakup was very discreet until one item came out\u2014leaked, not by me\u2014and suddenly everyone knew, even extended family. The media coverage wasn\u2019t pleasant, but there were more urgent matters to deal with, like where I was going to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.H1eYFsfeixe\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.H1eYFsfeixe\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.H1eYFsfeixe\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/S1hW9zwcxe_0_0_1066_1600_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05de\u05d3\u05d2\u05de\u05e0\u05ea \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05e1\u05dc\u05d5\u05dc\" title=\"Photo: Armando Grillo, courtesy of Victoria\u2019s Secret\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.H1eYFsfeixe\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/S1hW9zwcxe_0_0_1066_1600_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05de\u05d3\u05d2\u05de\u05e0\u05ea \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05e1\u05dc\u05d5\u05dc\" title=\"Photo: Armando Grillo, courtesy of Victoria\u2019s Secret\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Armando Grillo, courtesy of Victoria\u2019s Secret)<\/p>\n<p>The pain stayed with her for months. \u201cIt ate me up back then, and even now there\u2019s guilt and deep sorrow\u2014that this decision affected all of us, even our dog. If I had known the pain it would cause everyone, maybe I wouldn\u2019t have done it. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then we would have stayed in a relationship where neither of us was happy. After the breakup I moved to an apartment in Jaffa I found instantly, on the exact street I wanted. I thought to myself\u2014was that a sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Did the word \u2018divorce\u2019 scare you? People your age usually just \u2018break up,\u2019 which sounds less dramatic.<br \/>\n\u201cThe title never scared me. I would tell new people right away that I was divorced. It didn\u2019t carry a negative aura for me. People often associate divorce with failure, but to me failure is only living a life you\u2019re not satisfied with. Being \u2018divorced\u2019 isn\u2019t my identity or my value, it\u2019s just the name of a bureaucratic process I went through. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t buy into ideas like, \u2018What, I wasted nine years of my life?\u2019 On the contrary, everything had to happen exactly the way it did. I have no regrets. It gave me so much. At 20, I couldn\u2019t do what I can today. Back then, marriage suited me\u2014it was a success for its time. I acted on what I knew then, and what I\u2019ve learned since is the real success. It\u2019s all part of growing pains.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Was the separation connected to your career choice?<br \/>\n\u201cOf course modeling played a role. I can\u2019t say whether our relationship would have been different if I\u2019d stayed a student at Shenkar or waited tables, but modeling pushed me into personal growth on steroids. It threw me straight into the deep water of life\u2014in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sun, 27, grew up in Ramat Hasharon, the daughter of Vered Miller (who later remarried) and Alon Mizrahi, a star of Israel\u2019s national soccer team in the 1990s. Israelis first recognized her as \u201cthe daughter of,\u201d but abroad she became the muse of trendy French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and was named one of the world\u2019s most successful and highest-paid models. <\/p>\n<p>Her career began almost by accident: photos taken by a Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art lecturer, where she was studying fashion design, caught the attention of an agent who saw her international potential. Within a year she was flying between fashion capitals, walking for the biggest houses, dropping out of Shenkar and celebrating her first wedding anniversary far from home.<\/p>\n<p>In past interviews, you said marriage gave you stability amid all the travel and fame.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s true, and also not. The split really began when modelling demanded constant flights and moving between countries. We lived together in Paris, and I felt guilty it wasn\u2019t working. I was in a period where I needed a lot of freedom and didn\u2019t know how to give it to myself. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.Skx00ciGejgg\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.Skx00ciGejgg\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.Skx00ciGejgg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SJgEgtMwqll_0_0_1000_1500_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05e1\u05dc\u05d5\u05dc\" title=\"Photo: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis\/GettyImages\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.Skx00ciGejgg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SJgEgtMwqll_0_0_1000_1500_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05e1\u05dc\u05d5\u05dc\" title=\"Photo: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis\/GettyImages\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Stephane Cardinale &#8211; Corbis\/GettyImages)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was an amazing husband the whole way, but if I say I only had doubts about our marriage in its last year, it wouldn\u2019t be accurate. Questions had been there for years, but I didn\u2019t have the courage to face them. It took time to realize the gap between how I felt and what the relationship allowed me to feel\u2014and that neither of us should stay in something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What do you mean by \u2018gap\u2019?<br \/>\n\u201cHe was my teenage love. We grew up and developed together, but I felt there\u2019s something about mature love\u2014when you choose each other later in life\u2014that\u2019s maybe more precise. The breakup came after I researched myself. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always been a free spirit, and as I peeled back more and more layers, the feedback grew less positive. It became a little suffocating. I had changed, and I wanted to move more freely, dress differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When did you start feeling it?<br \/>\n\u201cThere were trips where I felt it strongly\u2014that I wanted to express myself more freely. I discovered myself, and people had trouble with the \u2018new Sun,\u2019 the one dancing in Instagram stories. Not just in the relationship, but also my family and followers asked questions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy need to say what I wanted, dress differently, meditate, dance in clubs\u2014small nuances that seemed foreign\u2014suddenly drew attention. At first we both tried to connect the worlds, to bring him closer to my spiritual side. But it created an inauthentic dynamic, and the realization that neither of us should live a life we don\u2019t connect to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m passionate about life. I didn\u2019t want either of us to live untrue to ourselves. There are things I want to feel at the highest level in a relationship. I wasn\u2019t willing to settle for \u2018that\u2019s just how marriage is.\u2019 It\u2019s either you live or you\u2019re walking dead. For two years I worked on myself to understand what was happening. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told myself I wasn\u2019t leaving the marriage to find someone else. I accepted that maybe I\u2019d die alone, raise a child alone, face the \u2018jungle out there\u2019 people talk about. But that was still better than staying in something that wasn\u2019t right for either of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.SyeHiofgsgg\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.SyeHiofgsgg\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SyeHiofgsgg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ryMqdCb9gg_0_0_1920_1080_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\" \" title=\" Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SyeHiofgsgg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ryMqdCb9gg_0_0_1920_1080_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\" \" title=\" Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Shai Cohen Arbel)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were periods in recent years when I thought maybe I didn\u2019t want children,\u201d she says. \u201cMy sister, who heard me say that, told me recently: \u2018Sun, you don\u2019t want kids? You? You love children, it\u2019s part of your essence.\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn hindsight, I realized it was the relationship I was in that made me feel that way. Mostly, I just didn\u2019t have the tools. Getting married so young\u2014it almost feels irresponsible now. I\u2019m not sure anymore that anyone can feel truly ready at that age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Did the \u201cbeauty queen syndrome\u201d myth follow you?<br \/>\n\u201cI first heard about it from my therapist. It didn\u2019t affect me much because I knew it wasn\u2019t true, and everyone close to me knew it too. Whoever thinks otherwise, I won\u2019t correct them. I don\u2019t need to please anyone. I just want to live my life in absolute freedom and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And suddenly you had to face the cost of that freedom.<br \/>\n\u201cExactly. I know how to carry pain, to breathe through it. But what was harder was dealing with other people\u2019s pain\u2014pain I had a role in causing. That\u2019s what broke me, what made me cry for days and nights. I\u2019d meditate at home and it would all come up there. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuilt is probably something I carry from previous lives, not just this marriage and divorce. I\u2019ve learned not to take responsibility for pain that doesn\u2019t belong to me. It also helped me understand that pain isn\u2019t inherently bad\u2014what matters is how we respond to it. The pain itself isn\u2019t pleasant, but it can make you grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Did your parents or those around you try to slow you down?<br \/>\n\u201cEveryone did. It took them a moment to realize how serious it was. My mother gave me a very strong hug. I saw how deeply she felt me, how much she wanted the best for me, and from then on our bond grew stronger. She had divorced herself and understood exactly what I was going through. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer instinctive reaction was: \u2018I felt you, I\u2019m not surprised.\u2019 And of course, the rumors flew\u2014people saying the divorce was because I\u2019m a lesbian, because I\u2019d changed, because I was cheating, because I\u2019d lost it. My mom worried about the impact all of that might have on me. There were nights she cried. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDror, her husband, called me once and said she wasn\u2019t doing well and asked if I could talk to her. I invited them for breakfast at my apartment, drew her a little childlike picture and framed it for her. She still keeps it by her bed. I explained that sometimes I needed distance, because other people\u2019s anxieties seep in, and I needed space to ground myself and choose me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.HJeP6oMliee\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.HJeP6oMliee\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.HJeP6oMliee\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rkZyqKAegl_310_252_1655_931_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\" title=\"Photo: Or Danon\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.HJeP6oMliee\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rkZyqKAegl_310_252_1655_931_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\" title=\"Photo: Or Danon\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>And your father?<br \/>\n\u201cIt was a bit harder for him to hear, but we got through it. It shook him, he was worried, and I understood that. He would come over for coffee almost every week, listen, and respect it when I needed space. His first reaction was supportive, but then I had to explain that this wasn\u2019t just a crisis\u2014it was my new reality. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy parents hadn\u2019t known me as single for years, and it was hard for them to swallow the divorce. But first and foremost, I got their embrace, and I value that. Over the years, I\u2019ve seen that I know best what makes me happy. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when I dropped out of Shenkar to model, there was shock, not immediate support. But I knew it was the right move for me, a kind of inner calling. That same inner calling is what carried me through this too, no matter what others thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, as we meet near her apartment in Jaffa, she is looking back on a year of dismantling and rebuilding. A long journey abroad freed her from commitments, letting her surrender fully to freedom\u2014though at a cost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, I let life and work numb me, until I finally allowed myself to sink into the pain and face it. There were so many breakdown moments. Even now, you\u2019ve caught me in a week where everything is hitting me at once. I\u2019ve always been the strong one, the grown-up holding everything together, never leaning on others. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven this past year, I felt I had to stay strong, that I couldn\u2019t afford to fall apart. When my friends, even my mom, told me they were worried, I\u2019d say: \u2018I know I\u2019m supposed to be depressed now, but I don\u2019t want to collapse.\u2019 This past week I\u2019ve been feeling the release of tension\u2014panic attacks I\u2019d never experienced before. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I\u2019m not scared of them. I know they\u2019re healthy, necessary. Everyone who knows me says: \u2018Sun, your life is on steroids. You live at 300% of everyone else\u2019s pace\u2014both in work and in your personal life. Give yourself permission.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How was it, suddenly knowing yourself as single after nine years in a relationship?<br \/>\n\u201cMoving into my own apartment was fine\u2014I\u2019m used to being alone from modeling, from traveling. But suddenly I was dealing with an accountant on my own, running a household alone, things my ex-husband used to do. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.HJlqW3Gejlx\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.HJlqW3Gejlx\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.HJlqW3Gejlx\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/S1M6UZlr1g_0_418_2423_1363_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05dc\u05e4\u05e7\u05d8\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9 54, 2023\" title=\"Photo: Simon Almalam\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.HJlqW3Gejlx\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/S1M6UZlr1g_0_418_2423_1363_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05dc\u05e4\u05e7\u05d8\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9 54, 2023\" title=\"Photo: Simon Almalam\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t just carrying my own pain\u2014it was also the pain of those around me, along with judgment and blame. During that time, I was very much alone, by choice. I knew I needed to find my center and tune out the background noise. Having always had a strong inner world helped me support myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Where do things stand now?<br \/>\n\u201cThe process is done, apart from small bureaucracies. Even the rabbinical divorce is behind us, and that was one of the most important parts for me because I believe in energy. Knowing I was still bound by that contract, and he too, felt wrong. Closing that circle brought me relief. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can say this has been the most significant year of my life. I was scared, I rebelled, I experimented. I traveled the world for nearly six months\u2014Marrakech, Greece, Mexico, Ibiza, and in between Paris, New York, Milan. Not just for work, but for me. It felt like that moment after the army when you get a brief taste of freedom that won\u2019t come again. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraveling alone is something too\u2014suddenly you have no commitments to anyone, not even to the dog we had, who stayed with him. I knew these months were for me, to not be angry at myself for how I eat, how I spend, or how my day unfolds. It was my time for complete freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What did that freedom look like?<br \/>\n\u201cI ate a lot more\u2014some of it emotional eating\u2014and everything was more intense because I had no routine. I read more, wrote more, exercised, painted, danced. I allowed myself to fall apart. Only in the past two months did I feel like I could breathe again and wanted stability. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut experiencing everything to the extreme was necessary. I went through so many losses\u2014my ex-husband, our dog, the life we built together, my grandfather who passed away. Relationships, life as I knew it, even work. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy body changed too\u2014I gained about 18 pounds (8 kilos) in three months. I remember arriving in New York and telling my agents everything about what I was going through, knowing it would affect my work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a way, I stopped doing everything people expected of me,\u201d Mizrahi admits. \u201cThat\u2019s why I call it a rebellion. People tell me it took courage, and it did. It also took trust\u2014trusting myself and remembering that my worth isn\u2019t tied to whether I work less for a while. The most frustrating part was that while I gained weight and developed acne for the first time in my life, I actually felt amazing. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.SkeGmnGxjlx\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.SkeGmnGxjlx\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SkeGmnGxjlx\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/HkREarYAR_0_16_3000_1688_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e6\u05d5\u05d2\u05ea \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1-\u05e7\u05d9\u05e5 2025 \u05e9\u05dc \u05e1\u05d8\u05dc\u05d4 \u05de\u05e7\u05e8\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05e4\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e4\u05e8\u05d9\u05d6\" title=\"Photo: JULIEN DE ROSA\/AFP\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SkeGmnGxjlx\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/HkREarYAR_0_16_3000_1688_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e6\u05d5\u05d2\u05ea \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1-\u05e7\u05d9\u05e5 2025 \u05e9\u05dc \u05e1\u05d8\u05dc\u05d4 \u05de\u05e7\u05e8\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05e4\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e4\u05e8\u05d9\u05d6\" title=\"Photo: JULIEN DE ROSA\/AFP\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Photo: JULIEN DE ROSA\/AFP)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I felt sexy, powerful, like a woman. There was a moment when I asked myself if modeling still fit my values. My agents reassured me: \u2018Take your time, come back when you\u2019re ready, when you\u2019re back in your size.\u2019 They were sensitive, but I told them, \u2018Don\u2019t shield me. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalk straight about the consequences of this break. My body, mind and spirit feel healthy. I won\u2019t be offended if you say I can\u2019t work right now because of my weight\u2014I know that myself.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What went through your mind when you considered leaving modeling?<br \/>\n\u201cModeling became part of my identity\u2014how I see myself and how others see me. So I prepared for another kind of loss if it ended. I made a mental chart: what I\u2019d lose and what I\u2019d gain. I\u2019d lose fame, travel, meeting new people. Money I trusted I could make elsewhere. But I\u2019d gain authenticity, my truth, and being in a good relationship with myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fact that she entered modeling only at 22, with what she calls a \u201cstrong inner center,\u201d spared her from familiar stories of cramped model apartments, lines of cocaine on bathroom counters, and extreme diets. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was never drawn to that world. It was important for me to build my foundation and learn how to protect myself in the industry. But the gap between worlds was huge. One day you\u2019re walking alongside Kylie Jenner and her sister Kendall, and the next you\u2019re at a hotel party with fifty people, including Leonardo DiCaprio, and he\u2019s introduced to you and shakes your hand. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut was I impressed? Not really. I remember one night with a group of younger models who were using drugs. I told them, \u2018I\u2019ll be your mom tonight.\u2019 I didn\u2019t touch anything, like always. We were taken backstage at these parties\u2014music blasting, everyone dancing, but they were high and I wasn\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt like an alien. My sensitivity made me feel pain for people numbing themselves with drugs, or women using men for validation. That environment often left me hurting inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abroad, your career soared, but in Israel you were still mostly known as \u201cthe daughter of Alon Mizrahi, the soccer star.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cTrue. And I wanted to build my own identity\u2014for myself and for him. In Israel, industries blur into each other. Modeling mixes with entertainment, instead of standing as its own profession. It opens doors for models to become actresses or influencers, but it makes things less professional. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like a chef trying to cook both Italian and Asian at once. I prefer specialization. I don\u2019t want to be famous just to be famous\u2014I want to be recognized for my achievements. In Israel, only a niche crowd of fashion people knew me, and that was fine. If I wanted exposure, I could\u2019ve gone on Big Brother as \u2018Alon Mizrahi\u2019s daughter,\u2019 or Survivor. But that was never what I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.SkgT4hzgile\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.SkgT4hzgile\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SkgT4hzgile\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ryxHSwpaA_0_0_2000_3000_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e6\u05d5\u05d2\u05ea \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1-\u05e7\u05d9\u05e5 2025 \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05d9\u05e1\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05e4\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5\" title=\"Photo: Marco BERTORELLO\/AFP\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.SkgT4hzgile\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ryxHSwpaA_0_0_2000_3000_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e6\u05d5\u05d2\u05ea \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1-\u05e7\u05d9\u05e5 2025 \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05d9\u05e1\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05e4\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05de\u05d9\u05dc\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5\" title=\"Photo: Marco BERTORELLO\/AFP\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Marco BERTORELLO\/AFP)<\/p>\n<p>Modeling also brought financial security.<br \/>\n\u201cIt gave me confidence. Not that I didn\u2019t have it before\u2014I\u2019ve been working since I was young. Financial anxiety was never present in my life, even though we had ups and downs growing up. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know I have value to offer, and if money is a value, then someone will want to pay for it. Modeling set a standard for me. If I fly to New York for two days of work, I want to go business class, and I can. But I can also buy shoes at a market in Morocco and love them just as much as Roberto Cavalli heels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This upcoming fashion week, Mizrahi will return to the runways of Milan and Paris. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to work with the same brands again and again. I\u2019d love to do another beauty campaign, maybe Chanel, which I love under Matthieu Blazy. Maybe even return to Victoria\u2019s Secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most precious thing I\u2019ve gained from this profession is the people who touched my heart, and I theirs. Like with designer Simon Porte Jacquemus. At my first casting for his brand, he was there barefoot. The next day on set, when he heard my name, he told me he\u2019d painted a giant sun in his childhood room and even had a sun tattoo. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe formed a bond\u2014he asked me to open his show, and later, between shoots, he\u2019d send me Instagram messages. He even named his son after me. Casting director Piergiorgio Del Moro was also central to my career\u2014responsible for my big breakthrough, and later almost a friend. That made me feel seen\u2014not just as beautiful, not just as another model, but as Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Do you worry about the current backlash against Israel?<br \/>\n\u201cI see people I follow posting things that don\u2019t honor Israel, and I want to believe it won\u2019t affect my work. If it does, then maybe it wasn\u2019t meant to be. I don\u2019t want to work somewhere I\u2019d have to hide my identity or be judged for where I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some say that once a model takes a break, she might not return\u2014especially if her body changes.<br \/>\n\u201cNo. I\u2019ve always been slim. Not the skinniest, but slim enough. And I was never going to be one of those models starving themselves. I\u2019m passionate, like I said. I love to cook, eat, taste. Even as a model, I ate everything. I have a freedom that not everyone knows how to digest. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I post videos of myself dancing on Instagram, people ask if I\u2019m okay: \u2018But you\u2019re divorcing, right?\u2019 Of course, I\u2019m also crying at home sometimes\u2014but it\u2019s not either-or. You can be both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, Mizrahi tries to preserve as much freedom as possible in her daily routine. \u201cI work out every day. I go to the beach every day\u2014sometimes twice, morning and sunset. I\u2019m working on personal projects, spending time with friends and seeing someone new.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gelleryOpener\" aria-label=\"open article gallery\" data-image-id=\"ArticleImageData.Hyldrhzxsel\" id=\"image_ArticleImageData.Hyldrhzxsel\"><\/p>\n<p>9 View gallery <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.Hyldrhzxsel\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/By3pgpyKA_1_0_850_478_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\" title=\"Photo: Tal Shahar\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"ReduxEditableImage_ArticleImageData.Hyldrhzxsel\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/By3pgpyKA_1_0_850_478_0_x-large.jpg\" alt=\"\u05e1\u05d0\u05df \u05de\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\" title=\"Photo: Tal Shahar\" aria-hidden=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>How did you meet him?<br \/>\n\u201cMy best friend reconnected with a childhood friend. I\u2019d been hearing about him. One day she scheduled us back-to-back; he was late to her, and that\u2019s how we met. There was an instant click. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI admire men who approach women in real life, in an elegant, confident, respectful way. That\u2019s how he did it, and it won me over. He wasn\u2019t my type at all\u2014I thought I\u2019d end up with someone older, maybe not from here. But the way he approached me was magical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What energy did he find in you?<br \/>\n\u201cIt came when I wasn\u2019t chasing it. I\u2019d already realized my value doesn\u2019t depend on being in a relationship. He asked if I had a free evening, and I said right away, \u2018Maybe tomorrow morning for coffee?\u2019 After the kind of people who had been hitting on me before, this was different. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe adores who I am and my energy, really admires it. After the divorce, I told everyone around me that maybe I\u2019d never marry again, maybe I wouldn\u2019t even have children. I didn\u2019t know how much I trusted the whole concept anymore. And suddenly, lately, I hear myself speaking differently.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She became Israel\u2019s most successful model, but just as she reached the top, Sun Mizrahi found herself in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-14352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}