Wek was discovered at an outdoor market in London in 1995 in Crystal Palace, south London,
by a Models 1 scout. She first received attention when she appeared in the music video for "
GoldenEye" by
Tina Turner, in 1995 and from there entered the world of fashion as one of its top models. She was signed to
Ford Models in 1996
and was also seen in the "
Got 'Til It's Gone" music video by
Janet Jackson that year. She was named "Model of the Year" in 1997 by MTV. She was the first African model to appear on the cover of
Elle, also in 1997.