--- description: The architect has died at 65 title: How Zaha Hadid First Rose to Fame image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dfe7f763b6157a1/69888d2ee20a8776a3a90337/zaha-hadid-dead-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Zaha Hadid First Rose to Fame  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 31, 2016 3:59 PM CUT  Zaha Hadid poses in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 14, 2004. Zaha Hadid poses in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 14, 2004.Kevork Djansezian—AP  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 31, 2016 3:59 PM CUT Zaha Hadid, the world-renowned architect who [has died at 65](http://time.com/4277898/zaha-hadid-death/ "undefined"), made a name for herself with her bold designs and bold opinions. As Donna Karan [wrote](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685%5F1984745,00.html "undefined") of her in 2010, when Hadid was included in TIME’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, “she personified \[her\] work.” Hadid, Karan noted, “commands the space around her — not in an imposing way but in a way that seduces you with excitement,” and her work was “like a gust of wind — organic, forceful and utterly natural.” But her place as one of the most recognizable names in architecture did not come easily. When she started breaking into that world, especially as a woman born in Baghdad, her projects didn’t always pan out. As Hadid herself acknowledged in a 2012 [interview](http://style.time.com/2012/03/26/10-questions-with-zaha-hadid/ "undefined"), the world was different when her career began: “The view from the Establishment about architecture has changed since then,” she said. “The view about women has also changed. People now see the value in difference, not normative space.” In 1999, TIME’s Belinda Luscombe looked back at the beginning of that career and explained how Hadid’s emergence on the scene set her apart from her colleagues: --- > “” --- **_Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [She’s Gotta Build It](http://time.com/vault/issue/1999-04-05/page/76/ "undefined") **_Read a 2012 interview with Hadid, here on TIME.com:_** [10 Questions with Zaha Hadid](http://style.time.com/2012/03/26/10-questions-with-zaha-hadid/ "undefined") **_Read Donna Karan’s appreciation of Hadid, here on TIME.com:_** [Zaha Hadid](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685%5F1984745,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4277849/zaha-hadid-1999-profile/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4277849/zaha-hadid-1999-profile/"},"headline":"How Zaha Hadid First Rose to Fame","datePublished":"2016-03-31T15:59:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:22:26.041Z","description":"\"People now see the value in difference, not normative space,\" she said in 2012","url":"https://time.com/4277849/zaha-hadid-1999-profile/","keywords":["remembrance","architecture","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dfe7f763b6157a1/69888d2ee20a8776a3a90337/zaha-hadid-dead-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dfe7f763b6157a1/69888d2ee20a8776a3a90337/zaha-hadid-dead-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HADID","caption":"Zaha Hadid poses in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 14, 2004.","creditText":"Kevork Djansezian—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4277849/zaha-hadid-1999-profile/","name":"How Zaha Hadid First Rose to Fame"}}]}] ```