Recently, Supermodels were at the forefront of the docu-series and coffee table book in Supreme Models by Marcellas Reynolds. In the close-knit industry of fashion, one’s success is not usually based on capability, but more dependent on accessibility. Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed the industry’s doors slowly open, but we want to celebrate the Black supermodels who paved the way for the younger generation.
Iman
Born Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid in Mogadishu, Somalia, the future supermodel changed her name to Iman at the request of her grandfather who believed she would prosper with a masculine name. She certainly did, becoming one of the world’s most famous Black supermodels, a multimillionaire businesswoman, and a rockstar’s wife. The Somali model was a muse for so many designers from Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Halston, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan. She is also a philanthropist and has fundraised for important causes like AIDS research, helping refugees, and other humanitarian efforts. She continues to be a voice of diversity in the modeling and entertainment industry with her book The Beauty of Color. In 2010, Iman received the Fashion Icon Award from the Council of Fashion Designers, further solidifying her impact in the fashion world.
Beverly Peele
Beverly Peele was on the cover of over 200 magazines, including Elle and Mademoiselle. She got her start at modeling at just 12 years old and has since created an incredible career for herself. She’s walked shows like Comme de Garcon and Chanel and constantly booked runway jobs. During her modeling career, she was featured in ads for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and Versace, among others. In addition to modeling, Peele also appeared in Heavy D & the Boyz’s music video for Nuttin’ but Love, Jodeci’s 1995 video “Freakin You”, and George Michael’s Thierry Mugler-styled Too Funky video alongside Nadja Auermann, Tyra Banks, Linda Evangelista, Estelle Hallyday, and Rossy de Palma.
Alek Wek
Alek Wek is a South Sudanese-British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but fled to Britain in 1991 to escape the civil war in Sudan. She went on to be one of the most wanted models for runways and was on magazine covers such as I-D, Elle, Glamour, and she has also been featured in editorials in American and British Vogue. In 2002 she made her acting debut in The Four Feathers as Sudanese princess Aquol and more. She is a missionary for World Vision, an organization which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, and devotes time to UNICEF. Since 2002, Alek has been an advisor to the U.S. Committee for Refugees Advisory Council, which helps to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC‘s 100 Women. Wek is still walking runways and shooting editorials today as she is a timeless beauty.
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British fashion model and actress best known as one of the elite “supermodels” who dominated the fashion industry in the 1980s and ’90s. She was the first Black model to appear on the cover of many luxury fashion magazines. She is also known for her high-profile legal entanglements and philanthropy, which included the founding of the charitable organization Fashion for Relief, which is dedicated to supporting those who have been affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. Namoi formed the Diversity Coalition with model Iman and modeling agent Bethann Hardison in 2013 to raise awareness about racism in the fashion industry and demand more diverse representation in runway modeling. Her philanthropy began in earnest in 1998, with the production of a fashion show in South Africa to benefit the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. Campbell continued to act throughout her career, with recurring roles in the television shows American Horror Story, Empire, and Star. She developed a modeling competition reality show, The Face, in 2013.
Naomi Sims
Naomi Ruth Sims was an American model, businesswoman, and author. She widely credited as being one of the first African-American supermodels. Sims was the first Black model to appear on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1968 as well as the 1969 issue of Life, and her career took off afterward. In 1985 she launched Naomi Sims Beauty Products Ltd., which by 1989 was grossing $5 million annually. In addition, Sims dispensed advice in such books as All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman (1976), How to Be a Top Model (1979), and All About Hair Care for the Black Woman and All About Success for the Black Woman (both in 1982). She was named Model of the Year in 1969 and 1970 and was inducted (1977) into the Modeling Hall of Fame, International Mannequins. Sims passed away from cancer in August 2009.
Beverly Johnson
Beverly Johnson is an American model who in the 1970s was the first Black woman to appear on the cover of numerous fashion magazines, including AmericanVogue and French Elle. She was also a runway model for Halston and Calvin Klein, among other designers. Johnson also acted in films and television shows and built her own luxury brand of fashion and beauty products. In 2012, Johnson was the star of the reality series Beverly’s Full House that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In 2008, The New York Times named Johnson one of the 20th century’s most influential people in fashion. In addition to modeling and acting, Johnson also published several self-care books, including Beverly Johnson’s Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty (1981) and True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color (1994). Her memoir, The Face That Changed It All (2015), covered some of the challenges she weathered throughout her career, including her experiences with bulimia and anorexia.
Mounia
The muse of Yves Saint Laurent was Mounia, and she paved the way for other Black models for haute couture as she was the first Black model to be a muse for Yves Saint Laurent. Before becoming the muse of a top high fashion brand, the Martinique-born beauty worked at the island’s local airport as an announcer. Her career started shortly after she was transferred to Paris’ Orly airport, relocating the budding model to the epicenter of fashion. Mounia’s first major modeling opportunity was at the house of Givenchy. After a short but immensely successful career, Mounia retired from modeling and turned her focus to the arts. She released several music albums and ultimately devoted her life to the practice of painting. Her signature pieces, with abstract splashes of bright color, have been showcased in galleries all over the world.
Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is an American fashion model and television personality best known as a face of the cosmetics company CoverGirl and the American lingerie, clothing, and cosmetics retailer Victoria’s Secret, as well as for her daily television talk show, The Tyra Banks Show. In 2003, Banks created the long-running reality television series America’s Next Top Model, which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons, until the series’ cancellation in October 2015. Banks started modeling at age 15 and, with the help of her mother, assembled a modeling portfolio. At age 17 she began seeking professional representation from local modeling agencies. Despite initial rejection, Banks signed in 1990 for professional representation with Elite Model Management, one of the world’s top modeling agencies. Banks walked a record 25 shows in her first season and subsequently appeared on the cover of the Spanish edition of the leading fashion magazine Vogue. Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly been ranked among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine. She is also one of only seventeen models to be ranked as a Legendary Supermodel by MODELS.com.
Katoucha Niane
Katoucha Niane was a Guinean model, activist and author. Nicknamed “The Peul Princess”, she worked, and later wrote, under the single name “Katoucha”. She was known as the muse of Yves Saint Laurent during the 1980s. Only after she had stepped down from the catwalk, at the age of 34, did she reveal the traumatic secret from her childhood in Guinea. Modelling, she said, was a kind of revenge for the terrible experience of genital mutilation which she was put through, in accordance with custom in parts of Africa, when she was just nine years old. After retiring from the runway in 1994, Niane became a women’s rights advocate and campaigned to halt the practice of female genital circumcision, of which she herself had been a victim. Her death in Paris in February of 2008 was ruled an accidental drowning.
Halima Aden
Hijab-wearing model Halima Aden has been redefining traditional standards of beauty, diversifying the modelling industry and improving visibility for the underrepresented demographic of Muslim women. A semifinalist in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she was the first contestant to participate wearing a hijab and the first to forgo skimpy swimwear in favor of a burkini during the contest’s swimsuit round. Since her participation, she received widespread attention and was signed to IMG models. In March 2019, Aden announced her collaboration with Modanisa to create a collection of 27 headpieces, including headscarves and turbans, to debut at Istanbul Modest Fashion Week. She also became the first Muslim model to wear the head covering and a burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. In 2021 she was named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women.
Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies.
She’s an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
