For African American supermodels, it hasn’t just been a bad year … it’s been a bad few decades. High hopes remain that this season’s runways will have more than just one vacant spot open for women of color. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Iman Abdulmajid have paved the way for favorites in the industry today like Chanel Iman, Selita Ebanks and Sessilee Lopez. Take a look at rolling out’s list of the top 10 most influential black supermodels. –mckenzie harris
Tyra Banks
Banks was the first black model on the cover of GQ magazine, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and Victoria’s Secret Catalog.
Iman Abdulmajid Iman was the first black model to appear on the cover of German Vogue, and remained on top of the modeling world for more than a decade. She launched IMAN cosmetics, a makeup line for women of color.
Naomi Campbell
She was the first black model on the cover of French Vogue magazine, and is the highest paid black supermodel of all time.
Tyson Beckford
The first black male model to receive supermodel status, and the highest paid male supermodel of all time.
Liya Kebede
She was the first black model for Estee Lauder, and appeared on the cover of Paris Vogue in May 2002 issue with the entire issue dedicated to her.
Beverly Johnson
The first black model on the cover of U.S. Vogue magazine, French Elle magazine, and German Cosmopolitan magazine. She also landed the cover for the American Vogue issue in 1974.
Alek Wek
One of the highest paid black supermodels of the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was named “Model of the Year” in 1997 by MTV.
Naomi Sims
One of the first black supermodels, she became a symbol of the Black is Beautiful movement after she appeared on the cover of Ladies Home Journal magazine in 1968. She later graced the covers of Time, Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, Life and many other magazines.
Beverly Peele
A well-known black supermodel of the 1990s, who was called “Baby Naomi,” because of her success.
Veronica Webb
The first black model to sign a major cosmetic contract with Revlon in 1992.
