You Will Not Believe How Much Bella Hadid Has Changed

With Solange Knowles taking home her first Grammy, Elizabeth Olsen receiving Oscar buzz for her performance in Wind River, and Serena Williams winning her 23rd Grand Slam, one thing is clear: 2017 is the year of the little sister.

And Bella Hadid, who is a year and a half younger than supermodel sister Gigi Hadid, is no exception. In the past few months, the breakout star collected modeling contracts as rapidly as she did Instagram followers and magazine covers. By the end of the year, the face of Bulgari was one of the highest-paid models in the biz alongside Gigi. (Which, should be noted, is the first time siblings have appeared on the Forbes models list together.)

But that’s not to say Bella rode her sister’s coattails — far from it. In fact, the model has made significant moves to distance herself from her blonde, blue-eyed sidekick (including dyeing her own naturally light hair a shade of rich chestnut). And it's something that makes her beauty evolution especially compelling.

We met up with Bella in Rome, where she gave us the first sniff of her new Bulgari fragrance Goldea, The Roman Night. (“It reminds me of my dad’s cologne and my mother's perfume put together,” she told us.) There, she invited us to take a ride down memory lane — from how she felt on her very first red carpet to the real story behind that headline-making Met Gala appearance. Check it out, ahead.