FAIRFIELD — The sound of the air raid sirens have remained in Hedyeh Renstrup’s memory since they echoed into the halls of her elementary school during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
She remembers moving to the basement with other students, hiding until they got the all-clear to head home a few hours later. When Renstrup made it back that one day to her house just outside the capital of Tehran, the physical impacts of nearby bombing were visible through her home. The windows were blown out with glass scattered “everywhere” and large pieces of metal debris lay in the middle of her living room.
Renstrup immigrated from Iran to Denmark with her family when she was 12 because of the “social pressures” in the country at the time, including suppression of opinion, a forceful hijab mandate and violence.
“I think we all deserve to be free and have free opinion and wear whatever we want, but it’s not like that unfortunately, in some parts of the world,” she said. “An example is in Iran.”
Renstrup now lives in Fairfield and, six months ago, became a salesperson for William Pitt Sotheby’s Realty.
Between her childhood in Iran and her time in Connecticut, Renstrup has gone on a journey of immigration, modelling and philanthropy that has taken her around the world. Along the way, she’s been crowned Miss Denmark, competed in the Miss World beauty pageant, visited 42 countries, learned four languages and earned two college degrees.
Renstrup’s journey started with her departure from Iran, where her grandparents stayed behind. She recalled her grandfather crying at the airport saying “I’m never going to see you again.” She said he died a few years later before they could reunite.
She said she’s now using her current role as a real estate agent to help make the world a better place. For each sale she makes, she said part of her commission will go towards a charity foundation of the buyer’s and seller’s choice.
Renstrup got involved with charity work after moving to Denmark. It was there that she participated in modelling shoots and beauty pageants worldwide, supporting youth humanitarian aid, environmentalism and the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
With a big sale on the horizon, Renstrup said she plans to donate part of her commission to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to support cancer and diabetes treatment and prevention.
“I have two kids myself,” she said. “And (it’s one thing) if something happens or someone gets cancer when they’re adults, but then I see a child who has cancer and suffers. That really affects me and breaks my heart. And I know it’s the same for many people.”
Renstrup’s gateway to beauty pageants and philanthropy opened in a clothing store in Denmark where she helped select and stock inventory. A photographer approached her there and asked if she’d be interested in modelling for a new clothing line. She accepted and went on to book more modelling deals for lifestyle magazines and commercials, including one for Coca-Cola.
Eventually, Renstrup said, she started entering high-profile beauty pageants to level greater influence across the globe in regions of major need.
“At some point I said, ‘I want to do something different in the world’ because of the aspect of I was living in Iran before, and I’ve seen how people can live there and the societies and how it was to live in Denmark, which is a complete different society,” she said. “So I wanted to make a change.”
The change was rapid. In 2005 — within a year of stepping into the beauty pageant field — she was crowned Miss Denmark. Renstrup said she distinguished herself from the other contestants because of her childhood experiences in Iran and her advocacy for the freedom and equality of women in other countries during the competition.
“We can be great leaders at the same time as we can be great mothers,” Renstrup said.
That same year, Renstrup said she helped address poverty in Tunisia as part of the Miss Europe competition and in the Philippines for Miss Earth, where she raised money to combat global warming and protect endangered animal species.
She said her pageant performances also took her to runway shows, including one held in support of UNICEF, and major initiatives, including a commercial for the Bill Gates Foundation’s campaign to counteract the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Renstrup went on to earn her master’s degree in production and management from the Technical University of Denmark in 2008 before moving to Belgium for five years, where she pivoted to become a stay-at-home mom to her daughter and son. She said she also earned a bachelor’s degree in IT engineering from DTU three years earlier.
Since moving to the United States eight years ago, real estate has become her passion in the Massachusetts and Connecticut markets. She specializes in Fairfield County.
As she reflects on her life’s journey from Iran to Fairfield, Renstrup said the freedom for women to learn and do what they love can make all the difference.
“Your superpower is your independence,” she said.
Credit:Source link
