The Clements family faced criticism from people who questioned why Leah and Ava were allowed to model at such a young age.
Their mom, Jaqi, defended the decision, saying it was the twins’ choice, not something forced on them. She also explained that she and her husband, Kevin, weren’t making money from their daughters’ careers. Instead, they were making personal sacrifices to help the girls follow their dreams.
Jaqi said, “I didn’t decide my girls were going to start modeling—they did. If they ever want to stop and do something else, I’ll fully support them.”
At first, the family used social media to share Leah and Ava’s modeling journey. But in October 2019, their Instagram account, already followed by millions, became a lifeline for their father.
The family’s life changed unexpectedly when Kevin, a father of three and the head swim coach at a local high school, started feeling what he thought was just a mild cold.
At 39, Kevin was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer.
Wanting to help, the twins used their social media platform to reach out to their millions of followers, hoping to find a match for their dad’s life-saving bone marrow transplant.
“If he gets a transplant, his cancer will go away faster,” Ava told People in 2019.
Leah added, “It’s so kind that people want to help my dad. The more people that get tested, the better.”
Thousands of people across the country responded to the twins’ request for help with their dad. While Kevin found a match in his brother Chris, those who offered their support were added to a national registry to assist other patients in need.