DUBAI: Gigi Hadid turned 27 on April 23, and the fashion and beauty crowd took to Instagram in droves over the weekend to wish the Dutch-Palestinian supermodel a happy birthday. The newly minted 27-year-old’s younger sister Bella Hadid kickstarted the well wishes, with a heartwarming message alongside a carousel of photos of the sisters, including several childhood snaps. “Happy Birthday to my big sister. Thank you for being born so that I could be born that was very sweet of you,” she joked. “Thank you for being the best sister, mom, daughter, human bean ever. You teach me something new every day and sometimes I just smile because I feel so lucky to be your baby sister,” she added. Leading designers also took to the photo-sharing social media platform to celebrate the birthday girl, including Donatella Versace, Riccardo Tisci, Michael Kors and Charlotte Tilbury. “Happy Birthday to my gorgeous princess. Gigi, I know that you will have the best day celebrating with Khai — you both deserve the world and more,” Versace wrote. Fellow models Mona Tougaard, Joan Smalls, Candice Swanepoel and Vittoria Ceretti all took to Instagram Stories to share touching messages. Also paying tribute to the catwalk star on her special day was her father, Palestinian real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid, who shared a thoughtful birthday message on his feed. “Guess what day is today. It’s the princess of Nazareth. Self-made, hardworking, smart and loves and respects all people from all religious walks of life,” he captioned a throwback photo of Gigi as a kid. “Greatest mother, daughter and sister,” he added. On the morning of Gigi’s birthday, Bella was spotted out at the Balloon Saloon in New York City where she picked up a bunch of balloons, including one shaped like a hot dog, before taking them to her sister"s apartment. Later on, the model was joined by her loved ones, including Bella, Blake Lively, Emily Ratajkowski, Martha Hunt and Helena Christensen at Zero Bond in New York City, where she celebrated her big day. Not present at the bash was her ex-partner, former One Direction star Zayn Malik with whom she shares a daughter. For the occasion, Hadid looked ethereal in an all-white Dion Lee ensemble that included a boned, floral lace corset, sheer trousers and a matching lace coat. This year is shaping up to be an exciting one for Gigi as she certainly has a lot to look forward to. The mother-of-one recently revealed that she is launching her own clothing line and is also set to co-host the second season of Netflix’s “Next in Fashion” alongside British TV personality Tan France.