“I was insecure. I was a dark-skinned girl and extra skinny. I never, ever imagined it. I wanted it, but I never imagined it.” People were always telling Riley that she should be a nurse, “you’ll always have a job in nursing” they would say. After earning an associate's degree in nursing, Riley knew a career in the medical field wasn’t for her, especially since she disliked blood. Soon Riley moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling. In her first year and a half in L.A., she wor[...]
Dorothea Towles Church was the first model to walk the runway for French designers. Dorothea Towles Church was born on July 26, 1922. After graduating from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, Church moved to L. A where she enrolled at the Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling School, becoming the first African American student to attend. After marrying her husband, the two took a trip to Paris. While there she looked for modeling work, she ended up being hired by designer Christian Dior to[...]
Lana Ogilvie was the first black model to sign a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics in 1992. Ogilvie was born in Toronto, Ontario. She was first discovered at a high school fashion show and went on to sign with Elite and Ford Models. // (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create',[...]
Renauld White was once the most sought after top black male model in his time. He was the first black male model to appear on the cover of GQ magazine in November 1979. Renauld left modeling to pursue an acting career, he appeared on the soap opera Guiding Light, for several years and continues to appear in New York Plays. ♥ // // ]]>[...]