About
Fiona Erdmann was born on 9 September 1988 in Saarbrücken-Dudweiler, Germany. Viewers first noticed her when she placed fourth on season two of “Germany’s Next Topmodel” back in 2007. Since then she’s juggled careers as a fashion model, television personality and, more recently, full-time lifestyle influencer. In 2018 she shifted her base to Dubai, sharing sunny snapshots of desert life with more than 400 000 Instagram followers. In 2025 she even branched into music, releasing the pop duet “Besser Sad” with singer-songwriter Julia Kautz and performing it live on ZDF-Fernsehgarten, proving she’s still keen to try fresh creative lanes even after almost two decades in the public eye.
Before Fame
Erdmann’s childhood was spent in the small town of Meldorf, Dithmarschen. After finishing Realschule in 2004 she began a vocational course as a Gestaltungstechnische Assistentin (design and media assistant) in nearby Bremen, but left shortly before completion, drawn instead to performing. Her first taste of reality TV was a brief appearance on “Popstars” in 2006, a stint that toughened her for the competitive world of modelling. Twelve months later she auditioned for Heidi Klum’s model search show and quickly became a fan favourite thanks to her trademark auburn hair and outspoken confidence. That top-five finish opened doors to magazine shoots, runway work at Berlin Fashion Week and hosting gigs such as Bravo magazine’s “Job Attacke.”
Trivia
- Playboy alumna: In 2008 she posed for the German Playboy, a move she has since described as “liberating” rather than provocative.
- Reality-TV regular: Beyond Topmodel, viewers voted her into fourth place on Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (the German jungle camp) in 2013.
- Desert blogger: Her move to Dubai inspired the bilingual blog dashingdesert.de, filled with décor tips and candid reflections on expat life.
- Social-media storms: While pregnant with her third child in 2024 she faced online criticism for sharing details of a prenatal genetic test; she clapped back, urging followers to let parents make their own choices.
- Unexpected singer: Her 2025 single “Besser Sad” surprised many followers who didn’t realise she had previously released a dance track (“Hot [Boy I Like That]”) in 2012.
Family Life
Family has been both Fiona’s anchor and her greatest source of heartache. She tragically lost her mother in 2016, and the following year her first husband Mohammed O. died after a car accident.
Happiness returned when she fell in love again with businessman Mohammed El Kurdi. The couple welcomed son Leo Luan in 2020, daughter Neyla May in 2022 and a second son (name undisclosed) on 12 February 2025. The birth, announced on Valentine’s Day, was particularly emotional because Fiona had suffered two miscarriages in earlier pregnancies; she described her newborn as a “double rainbow baby” on Instagram.
Today the family of five lives in Dubai, where Fiona and Mohammed also manage an expanding real-estate venture. Despite the glamorous address she often shares the less polished side of motherhood—sleepless nights, postpartum body changes and the chaos of three under five—endeavouring to keep her feed relatable rather than picture-perfect.
Associated With
- Heidi Klum – host of Germany’s Next Topmodel, the platform that launched Fiona’s career.
- Barbara Meier – the eventual winner of Fiona’s Topmodel season; the two have since crossed paths at fashion events and even appeared together in a 2015 episode of SOKO Stuttgart.
- Julia Kautz – singer-songwriter who collaborated with Fiona on the 2025 single “Besser Sad,” marking Erdmann’s return to the studio after thirteen years.
