Supermodel Anok Yai is opening up about a yearlong “silent” health battle that she kept private until now.
“For the past year I’ve been dealing with this silent battle,” Yai, 28, shared on Instagram on December 19. “I incidentally found out I had a congenital defect overworking my heart and slowly destroying my lungs.”
Yai explained that she had been mostly symptom-free for most of her life, until a lingering cough led to more serious health issues.
“That cough turned to chest pains, bouts of coughing up blood, and at times struggling to breathe,” she wrote. “I chose to work through this while trying to find the right doctor and the right time. I quickly realized there was never going to be a ‘right time’—my health would continue to worsen.”
In a heartfelt update, Yai revealed that she underwent a successful robotic lung surgery, crediting Dr. Robert Cerfolio and his team for the life-saving procedure. A robotic thoracic surgery is a minimally invasive operation designed to remove diseased lung tissue or surrounding lymph nodes, according to the American Lung Association.
“I am forever grateful for Dr. Harmik Soukiasian and everyone at @beverlyhillsconciergehealth for discovering my condition,” Yai added. She also thanked the medical staff at @nyulangone, as well as her friends and family for their support during her recovery.
Yai is now healing and optimistic about the future. “For now, I’m healing … but I’ll be back,” she wrote. “See ya.”
Fellow models and industry icons flooded her Instagram comments with messages of love and support.
“I love you so much,” Amelia Gray Hamlin wrote. “The strongest soldier there ever was. You inspire me every day ❤️🔥.”
Winnie Harlow added, “God bless you in your healing ❤️ God bless your family and all of your strength. Everything will be here waiting for you. Your health never waits, proud of you for putting you first.”
Other modeling heavyweights, including Heidi Klum, Iman, Alex Consani, and Faretta Radic, also sent their well wishes.
Yai has been a rising force in fashion since 2018 and was recently named Model of the Year at the 2025 Fashion Awards. During her acceptance speech on December 2, she reflected on the challenges she’s overcome in the industry.
“I was told that I would be a flash-in-the-pan and that I would be crushed by the machine that is the fashion industry and my career would only last six months,” she said. “It’s been a long six months, huh?”
She went on to explain that she’s worked “twice as hard and taken twice as many risks” to make her mark, relying on resilience rather than connections or a trust fund.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t have anything to fall back on. I didn’t have parents in the industry [or] a trust fund to rely on. What I did have was a bloodline of resilience and strong-willed parents who sacrificed everything for my future. I am a refugee, and there’s nothing stronger than that.”