Maayan Keret

Maayan Keret
מעין קרת
Born (1976-04-24) 24 April 1976
Israel
Occupations
  • Model
  • Actress
  • Entrepreneur
  • Lecturer
  • Activist
Known for
  • Founder of Changing Model - Center for Positive Body Image and Educational Work
  • Advocacy on body image and self-esteem
  • Criticism of modeling industry practices

Maayan Keret (Hebrew: מעין קרת; born 24 April 1976) is an Israeli model, actress, entrepreneur, lecturer, public speaker and activist.[1] Following her modeling career she has worked in promoting body acceptance, gender awareness, and feminist activism where her work primarily focuses on body image education for women, adolescents, professionals, and trauma survivors in diverse sectors of Israeli society.[2][3]

Modeling

A successful model at an early age, Keret was featured in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire. Keret worked with leading designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan.[4][5]

Post-Modelling

Workshops and Lectures

Keret uses her experiences to help those who have issues with body perception, presence in the body, aging, trauma, motherhood, and the social construction of appearance.[6][7]

Academic Collaboration

Since 2017, Keret has collaborated with the School of Education at Tel Aviv University teaching about body image. This is aimed at training future teachers to address appearance, self-perception, and social norms through inclusive and body-aware pedagogy.[8]

Changing Model - Center for Positive Body Image and Educational Work

Keret is the founder and director of Changing Model - the Center for Positive Body Image , an educational platform offering workshops and lectures for youth, professionals, and women throughout Israel.[9] The center collaborates with a team of facilitators, including Olympic judoka Raz Hershko, to deliver programs on body acceptance, bullying, resilience, and gender awareness in schools and communities.Through the center, Keret leads specialized workshops for educational staff, mothers and daughters (Bat Mitzvah programs), and youth professionals, focusing on media literacy, emotional safety, and healthy identity development.The programs have been especially relevant in times of national crisis, supporting teens and educators in navigating body image and emotional challenges.[10]

Body Space

Keret co-founded Body Space (Merhav Guf) in partnership with Prof. Rafi Caro-Harouti, head of the Sexual Medicine Center at Sheba Medical Center.The program provides body image support for trauma survivors, including victims of terror and violence, using a somatic and trauma-informed approach rooted in psychological flexibility.[11][12]

Mirror Cards

Keret created “Mirror Cards”,[13] a therapeutic card deck used widely in Israel by therapists, educators, social workers, and dietitians to serve as a tool for body image dialogue, reflection, and empowerment.[14]

Publications and Media Work

In 2004, Keret wrote, "The Beautiful Women",[15] a feminist autobiographical work featuring fourteen monologues - her own and those of thirteen other women from the worlds of modeling, acting, and dance. The work blends personal narrative with cultural and social critique.[16][17]

She has also written a number of essays and articles about body image, sexuality, trauma, and resilience for sites such as Israeli women’s magazine At,[18]Haaretz,[19]Ynet,[20] and Mako.[21] She also regularly appears on TV,[22] radio, and podcasts, discussing modeling, feminism, motherhood, and social change.[23]

Community Leadership and Advocacy

Keret is the founder of the professional Facebook group “The Professional Forum for Promoting Body Image in Israel” It serves as a platform for learning, exchanging ideas, sharing research, and professional consultation on body image and related fields.[24] The community also actively engages in public advocacy, collaborating with policymakers and health authorities to advance body-positive education and policies.[25]

Conferences and International Engagement

Keret is a regular speaker at national and international conferences[26] on topics of body image, feminism, education, trauma recovery, and media representation.[27] She is considered a central voice in the Israeli body positivity and feminist movements.[28]

References

  1. ^ Andrew Tobin (20 October 2017). "Israeli women having been saying #MeToo for years". The Times of Israel.
  2. ^ "Raz Hershko and Maayan Keret signed a cooperation agreement". One (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  3. ^ "When we go down to the shelter scared to death – and in movies about what we look like". AT (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  4. ^ Jackie Levey (10 March 1994). "Review/Fashion; From 5 Designers, a Sense of Calm". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Bernadine Morris (30 May 2017). "Israeli supermodel to speak at Washington University". The Jewish Light. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  6. ^ "When we go down to the shelter scared to death – and in movies about what we look like". AT (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Card Readers: Maayan Keret Found a Way to Empower Women". 13TV (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Positive Body Image". Tel Aviv University (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Raz Hershko and Maayan Keret signed a cooperation agreement". One (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Today I know how to identify my thoughts, but they no longer control me". Mako (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Body Space workshop - a journey to empower the medical team in collaboration with the Israel Medical Association. Led by Professor Rafi Heruti and Ms. Maayan Keret". Ishi Clinic (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Body Space – a workshop for medical teams on improving positive body image and self-confidence of wounded IDF soldiers and victims of hostilities". Israeli Medical Association (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Card Readers: Maayan Keret Found a Way to Empower Women". 13TV (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  14. ^ "When you lose your power you can always be beautiful". Mako (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  15. ^ Bernadine Morris (30 May 2017). "Israeli supermodel to speak at Washington University". The Jewish Light. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Beautiful Women". WorldCat. 12 October 2025.
  17. ^ "He who looks into the abyss will end up being looked at by the abysss". Haaretz (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  18. ^ "Maayan Keret". AT (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Maayan Keret". Haaretz (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Maayan Keret". Ynet (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Maayan Keret was looking for a second career. Then she realized it was right under her nose the whole time". Mako (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  22. ^ "Maayan KERET, MODELS, BBC News Channel". YouTube/BBC. 12 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Maayan Keret playlist". YouTube (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  24. ^ ""The Professional Forum for Promoting Positive Body Image" Facebook group that I manage". YouTube/Channel 13 (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  25. ^ "Thoughts on Body Image. A conversation with Maayan Keret, body image activist". Apple Podcasts (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
  26. ^ Bernadine Morris (30 May 2017). "Israeli supermodel to speak at Washington University". The Jewish Light. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  27. ^ "Celebrity Grapevine". Jerusalem Post. 12 October 2025.
  28. ^ "Professional conference on 01/25/2016: On the merits of the matter or the matter of the body – the place of the body in the treatment and teaching of at-risk youth". Ono Friends (in Hebrew). 12 October 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.