28 Days Of Black History: Who Was The Worlds First Black Male Supermodel?
Sterling St. Jacques was the world’s first black male supermodel. Before Tyson Beckford, there was Sterling St. Jacques.
Sterling St. Jacques
Sterling St.Jacques was not only a model he was also a singer and dancer in the New York fashion scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
St. Jacques was quite the party boy during his time. He was 6’2 and stunningly handsome with gray eyes (but he often wore blue contacts). People referred to him as a flawless physical specimen.
St. Jacques did print and runway for designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Halston, and Givenchy.
As a professional dancer, St. Jacques often traveled frequently between New York and Europe. He was a regular at Studio 54 where his dance/runway partner and former Ebony Fashion Fair model Pat Cleveland were treated like royalty. St. Jacques and Cleveland had a brief engagement with each other.
“St. Jacques was gay and was allegedly pursued by rich sugar daddies in New York before and after he became a top model. Rumors have it that he became a kept man to some of these sugar daddies and was lavished with gifts and money and kept on an allowance. Rich men also flew him overseas in private jets at a moment’s notice.”
In 1984, St. Jacques died of AIDS complications.
Surprisingly this is the first time I’ve ever heard about Sterling St. Jacques, I wish there was more information about him. I would love to learn more about his career as a model.
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Source: Panachereport
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