How Actress and Model Jillian Mercado Is Breaking Boundaries For Disabled Latinas

Although much of her modeling work had been for print campaigns until that point, Mercado made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2020. She appeared in The Blonds's fall 2020 runway show, marking the first time many people had ever seen someone in a wheelchair on a high-profile runway.

"Knowing that somewhere, someplace there's a younger me freaking the hell out that she sees herself on the runway [is mind-blowing]," she told Teen Vogue.