Not even a year into my journey off of reality TV we made it onto Forbes 30 Under 30. Just WOW!!!!!!!!" That TikTok caption landed in December 2025 — posted by a 26-year-old from Calabasas, California, barely sixteen months after she walked out of the Love Island USA Season 6 villa as runner-up. The speed of what Leah Kateb built between those two moments is the story nobody expected from a reality television contestant, and it is the reason her name keeps appearing in places that have nothing to do with a villa in Fiji.
She is now a Forbes honoree, the face of Degree Clinical's "Five Types of Sweat" national TV campaign, Chief Creative Officer of a fragrance brand, and a regular on red carpets she was not invited to a year ago. This article covers everything: who she is, where she came from, how she built it, and where things stand in March 2026.
The Love Island Season That Made Leah Kateb Famous
Love Island USA Season 6 aired on Peacock in 2024, filmed in Fiji. Leah Kateb entered the villa as a 24-year-old Political Science student from Bell Canyon, California — the daughter of Iranian immigrants, Farsi as her first language, an eleven-year vegetarian, and someone who had been openly told by producers that her personality might be "too much" for the format. That description turned out to be exactly wrong.
Her nickname in the villa was the "Persian Princess" — earned not through any single moment but through a consistent combination of directness, style, and an unwillingness to soften her opinions for the camera. The label stuck. It is now one of the most searched phrases associated with her name.
She finished as runner-up alongside Miguel Harichi, a 29-year-old British-Moroccan fitness model and adventurer she met inside the villa. They lost to Serena Page and Kordell Beckham. She left with 2.7 million TikTok followers, a UTA representation deal signed within weeks, and a level of audience trust that most celebrities spend years trying to manufacture. The villa was the starting pistol, not the finish line.
What Leah understood — and what separated her trajectory from most Love Island contestants — was that the show gave her an audience, but it was her existing character that would determine what she did with it. She did not wait to figure that out.
Leah Kateb and the Degree Clinical Campaign — "Five Types of Sweat"
In early 2026, Degree Clinical launched a national TV campaign called "Five Types of Sweat," and they chose Leah Kateb as the face. The 30-second spot features Leah looking directly into the camera in a way that feels less like an advertisement and more like a FaceTime call with someone who happens to know a lot about deodorant. She tests the product in real time, addresses the viewer personally, and brings the kind of casual authority that Degree's marketing team clearly recognized as the difference between a brand deal and a genuine endorsement.
A follow-up 15-second spot, "No Sweat Crew," released on March 9, 2026, continued the same campaign energy. Both ads have aired nationally across TV and streaming platforms.
The campaign is notable for reasons beyond the obvious. Degree did not hire Leah to perform confidence. They hired her because their research told them that Gen Z and Millennial audiences respond to faces they recognize as authentic rather than faces they recognize as famous. There is a difference, and Leah represents the former. As one industry analysis put it: "Degree understood that to reach Gen Z and Millennials, you don't need a perfect actress — you need a familiar face that can handle daily chaos with irony and honesty."
Her own TikTok post about the partnership — "5X the benefits against 5 types of sweat? together with @Degree Deodorant it's #No5weat, duh" — received 20,100 likes. The search phrase "Leah Kateb Degree commercial" started appearing in Google's autocomplete within days of the campaign's launch.
From Villa to Executive: How Leah Became Skylar's CCO
In July 2025, barely twelve months after leaving the Love Island villa, Leah Kateb was announced as Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of Skylar — a clean fragrance brand built on vegan, cruelty-free scents. The announcement confirmed what her team at UTA had been positioning since she left the show: this was not going to be a standard influencer-to-brand-deal pipeline. She was going to own something.
The role gave her direct involvement in product development, packaging decisions, brand identity, and creative direction. Skylar found her through a viral perfume video she posted on TikTok — a detail she has shared in interviews, and one that underlines how her content had been doing real work for years before any TV show put a spotlight on it.
The fit was deliberate. Skylar's positioning around clean beauty and cruelty-free products aligned with values Leah had held publicly for years — her eleven-year vegetarianism, her Iranian-American identity, and a genuine interest in what goes into the products she uses. The brand did not mould her to their image. They found someone whose image was already theirs.
Like Annabelle Wallis, who built a two-decade acting career before most of the internet learned her name, Leah had been doing the work long before the spotlight found her.
Forbes 30 Under 30 — What the Recognition Actually Means for Leah Kateb
In December 2025, Forbes announced their 2026 30 Under 30 list. Leah Kateb appeared in the Social Media category. Forbes described her as an internet personality focused on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, with a following of more than 10 million across platforms.
The TikTok caption she posted when the list dropped — the one that opened this article — had a line that is easy to scroll past but worth sitting with: "My haters stay mad." That is not bravado. That is a record of what the previous sixteen months had actually looked like: people telling her the reality TV to business pipeline was not real, that the Skylar appointment was a vanity title, that the audience she had built would not translate to commercial credibility. Forbes answered that for her.
For creators who come up through reality television, the Forbes list sends a specific signal to the business world. Brand deals change after Forbes. Investor conversations open. The terms shift. Companies that would previously have paid Leah to post about their products now have to consider whether she might be the person who runs the product strategy instead. She was 26 when the list was announced. The velocity is real, and it is not accidental.
Leah Kateb at the 2026 Grammys — Tom Ford, Jimmy Choo, and Miguel
On February 1, 2026, Leah Kateb walked the red carpet at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She wore a black Tom Ford dress with daring cutouts and gold accent pieces, accessorised with Jimmy Choo x Jean Paul Gaultier shoes, Jenny Bird earrings, rings by Letra, and her own personal bracelets. Miguel Harichi stood beside her in matching all-black with gold accents — a look that drew immediate social media attention.
One X user wrote: "They both look incredible — great chemistry, great styling, very 'power duo on the rise' energy. This is exactly how you make a Grammys carpet entrance." Another added: "We love a gorgeous couple!!"
They attended the ceremony alongside Love Island Season 6 co-star JaNa Craig, who had become one of their closest friends since the show ended. The three had turned a monthly seafood boil night at Leah's and Miguel's into a standing tradition. At the Grammys, JaNa joked about her role in the trio: "My favourite thing to do is third-wheel with my friends. It's the best activity ever — highly recommend it. They're just in love — and just sit there, and like, admire them."
It was not Leah's first major red carpet, but it was among her most photographed. The Grammys appearance was covered by E!, Elite Daily, Parade, Yahoo Entertainment, and Billboard.
Leah Kateb and the Huda Beauty Boycott
In January 2026, a boycott of Huda Beauty accelerated after founder Huda Kattan posted and then deleted what many users — particularly those in the Iranian diaspora — described as content sympathetic to the Iranian government. The backlash was immediate and significant: Huda Beauty had built much of its brand identity around Middle Eastern women, and those same women felt the post was a betrayal.
Leah Kateb, who had previously collaborated with Kattan, commented publicly that she was "so disappointed." The comment carried weight that a generic celebrity statement would not have. Leah's parents are Iranian immigrants. Her first language is Farsi. She grew up in a Persian household shaped by the reality of what her family left behind when they came to America. When she said she was disappointed, her audience understood exactly why, and it landed accordingly.
Huda Kattan subsequently addressed the backlash in a new post: "I know a lot of people all over the world are very upset. A lot of Iranians who have left Iran are very upset." Leah unfollowed Kattan on Instagram. Their professional relationship ended. The episode showed, again, that Leah's influence is not measured only in follower counts — it is measured in what happens when she speaks.
Celia Walden similarly found her name in trending searches in March 2026 — for reasons equally outside her control.
Leah Kateb's Parents, Iranian Heritage, and Background
Leah Kateb was born on November 28, 1999, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of two people who left Iran and built everything from scratch in America. Her father, Afshin Kateb, works in finance and hospitality. Her mother, Mina Kateb, is a Regulatory Affairs Senior Consultant at Regulatory Solutions, Inc. They have been married for over thirty years. Leah has spoken about their marriage as a reference point for what she wants in her own relationship.
She has an older sister, Daria Kateb, born September 17, 1998, who is also active on social media. The family lives in Calabasas. Leah grew up in Bell Canyon — a gated equestrian community west of the San Fernando Valley — before the family relocated.
She attended an all-girls high school in Calabasas, then enrolled at California State University, Northridge, where she was studying Political Science when she joined Love Island Season 6 in 2024. The degree choice matters: not marketing, not communications — political science. She was studying human behaviour, power, and persuasion. That training informs how she operates now in ways that are not always obvious but are consistently visible.
Leah has been a vegetarian for over eleven years. She owns three dogs, three horses, and several pigs. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall. Her net worth is estimated between $1 million and $2 million as of 2026, a figure that was meaningfully lower before the Skylar appointment and Forbes recognition shifted her brand value. She is active on Instagram and TikTok under the handle @leah.kateb, with a combined following exceeding 10 million.
Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi — The Relationship and the Dream Wedding
Leah and Miguel Harichi have been together since Love Island Season 6 ended in 2024. They came in second to Serena Page and Kordell Beckham and have remained together through everything that has happened since — the long distance between California and the UK, the rapid pace of Leah's career changes, and the specific pressures that come with both partners being public figures with growing audiences.
Miguel, 29, has told interviewers he plans to marry Leah. In one interview, he described her family as "the most welcoming, sweet, and kind-hearted people." Leah, for her part, has said: "I think we're in love. I don't want to be with anybody else, and I definitely see myself being with him forever. I really don't think I was made for anyone else."
At the March 17, 2026, Los Angeles premiere of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's wedding-themed film The Drama, Leah told E! News exactly what she has in mind. "I already know exactly what type of dress I'm gonna wear. I've had it saved since 2019 — and I haven't bought it yet, but I will. It's Mugler." She was quick to add context: "I didn't buy it cause I wanted a husband. I bought it because it was fire." For the ceremony itself, she described wanting something earthy and ranch-themed — beautiful and unpretentious in equal measure. Miguel's requirements were simpler: "Good people, good drinks, good vibes."
In 2025, Leah and Miguel also appeared on Love Island: Beyond the Villa — the Peacock spinoff that reunited the Season 6 cast for an extended look at their lives outside the villa. The show featured Miguel meeting Leah's horses for the first time and the two navigating a fake baby parenting challenge together, both of which generated significant social media attention. The cast unanimously voted that Leah and Miguel were most likely to get married first, calling them soulmates.
The spinoff also saw the end of JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez's relationship — and Leah's public response made clear where her loyalties sat. When a fan commented asking Leah to tell JaNa "we don't play about her," Leah replied simply: "We don't either." It was exactly the kind of statement her audience expected: short, direct, and completely unambiguous.
No engagement between Leah and Miguel has been announced as of March 2026.
Quick Facts: Leah Kateb
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Leah Kateb |
| Date of Birth | November 28, 1999 |
| Age (2026) | 26 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California |
| Raised In | Bell Canyon and Calabasas, California |
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Iranian-American |
| First Language | Farsi |
| Father | Afshin Kateb (finance and hospitality) |
| Mother | Mina Kateb (Senior Consultant, Regulatory Affairs) |
| Older Sister | Daria Kateb (born September 17, 1998) |
| Education | California State University, Northridge — Political Science |
| Reality TV | Love Island USA Season 6, Peacock (2024) — Runner-up / Love Island: Beyond the Villa (2025) |
| Partner | Miguel Harichi (together since 2024) |
| Current Role | Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder, Skylar |
| Forbes | 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 — Social Media (announced December 2025) |
| Degree Campaign | Face of Degree Clinical "Five Types of Sweat" + "No Sweat Crew" (2026) |
| Net Worth | Estimated $1–$2 million (2026) |
| Social Media | @leahkateb (Instagram and TikTok) |
| Combined Following | 10+ million |
For another story of a woman navigating sudden public attention in 2026, read about Kendra Caldwell Duggar.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leah Kateb
Who is Leah Kateb?
Leah Kateb is a 26-year-old American creator, influencer, and business executive from Los Angeles, California. She rose to national attention as a runner-up on Love Island USA Season 6 on Peacock in 2024, earning the nickname "Persian Princess" in the villa. She is currently Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of clean fragrance brand Skylar, the face of Degree Clinical's national TV campaign, and a Forbes 2026 30 Under 30 honoree. Her parents are Iranian immigrants, and Farsi was her first language.
How old is Leah Kateb?
She was born on November 28, 1999. She is 26 years old as of 2026.
What is the Leah Kateb Degree commercial?
Kateb is the face of Degree Clinical's "Five Types of Sweat" national TV campaign, launched in early 2026. The 30-second spot features her speaking directly to the camera while testing the product. A follow-up 15-second commercial, "No Sweat Crew," was released on March 9, 2026. Both are running nationally on TV and streaming platforms.
What is Leah Kateb's net worth?
Leah's net worth is estimated between $1 million and $2 million as of 2026, earned through brand partnerships, her role as Skylar CCO, the Degree campaign, and her social media platforms. No official figure has been publicly confirmed.
What did Leah Kateb do at the 2026 Grammys?
He attended the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on February 1, 2026, in Los Angeles with boyfriend, Miguel Harichi. She wore a black Tom Ford dress with cutouts and gold accent pieces, paired with Jimmy Choo x Jean Paul Gaultier shoes. The couple's red carpet appearance was covered by E!, Elite Daily, Parade, and Billboard, and was widely praised on social media. They attended alongside Love Island co-star JaNa Craig.
What happened with Leah Kateb and Huda Beauty?
In January 2026, Leah Kateb publicly expressed disappointment after Huda Kattan posted content that many Iranian diaspora users described as sympathetic to the Iranian government. Leah, whose parents are Iranian immigrants, said she was "so disappointed" and subsequently unfollowed Kattan on Instagram. The episode accelerated the broader boycott of Huda Beauty among Iranian communities.
Who is Leah Kateb's boyfriend, Miguel Harichi?
Miguel Harichi is a 29-year-old British-Moroccan fitness model and adventurer who met Leah on Love Island USA Season 6 in 2024. The two have been together since finishing as runners-up on the show. Miguel has publicly said he intends to marry Leah. The couple attended the 2026 Grammy Awards together and have spoken about their dream wedding: Leah wants a Mugler dress and a ranch ceremony; Miguel wants good people and good drinks.
What is Leah Kateb's Persian Princess nickname?
"Persian Princess" was the nickname Leah Kateb earned during Love Island USA Season 6, reflecting her Iranian-American heritage, her style, and her no-nonsense personality in the villa. Her parents are Iranian immigrants, Farsi was her first language at home, and her identity as an Iranian-American has been central to how she speaks publicly — including her response to the Huda Beauty controversy in January 2026. The nickname remains one of the most searched terms associated with her name.
What college did Leah Kateb attend?
Kateb attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where she studied Political Science. She was enrolled as a student when she joined Love Island USA Season 6 in 2024.