Janice Dickinson
Encyclopedia
Janice Doreen Dickinson is an American actress, author, fashion photographer, model and talent agent
.
Initially notable as a model, she has described herself as the first supermodel
. One of the most successful models throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she expanded her profession to reality television
in 2003 by judging for four cycles on America's Next Top Model
. She subsequently opened her own modeling agency
in 2005, which was documented in the reality-television series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
(2006–2008).
borough
of New York City
, New York
, to parents Ray Dickinson, of Belarusian descent, and Jenie Dickinson née Pietrzykoski, of Polish descent. She was raised in Hollywood
, Florida
, with two sisters, elder Alexis, who became a real estate agent, and younger Debbie
, who also became a model.
Dickinson has been open about the emotional and physical abuse she suffered as a child and teenager, and how her father used to sexually abuse
one of her sisters. Of her childhood with her "rageoholic pedophile
" of a father, Dickinson stated, "Because I wouldn't give in and let him have sex with me, I was verbally and physically abused on a daily basis. I was told that I looked like a boy and wouldn't amount to anything. I think if you abuse a child, your balls should be cut off. You should be castrated immediately."
, who informed Dickinson she was "much too ethnic. You'll never work." She was discovered by the fashion photographer
Jacques Silberstein when his girlfriend, actress Lorraine Bracco
, mentioned she liked Dickinson's look. Wilhelmina
became Dickinson's first agent. Her modeling pursuits led her to Paris
, France
, where her "exotic looks" secured her reputation within the European fashion industry.
She returned to New York City in 1978, and spent the next several years working steadily, earning $2,000 per day, nearly four times the standard rate. Dickinson eventually signed with Ford Models
to land a major ad campaign for a new JVC
camera. Dickinson, who had not forgotten Ford's initial rejection, was intent on revenge. She soon became one of twenty Ford models to defect to John Casablancas's upstart Elite Model Management
.
By the 1980s, Dickinson was considered a supermodel
, as she "possessed the kind of name and face recognition" that the majority of women in the modeling industry strive to achieve. She appeared within and on covers of magazines including Harper's Bazaar
, Vogue
and Playboy
, and worked with some of fashion's best-known names, including Giorgio Armani
, Gianni Versace
, Valentino, Azzedine Alaïa
, Pino Lancetti, Halston
, and Calvin Klein
. Dickinson has appeared on the cover of Vogue (both American and international editions) 37 times. She appeared on the cover of Elle
seven times in a row and has been the face of ad campaigns for products including Revlon
cosmetics
, Alberto VO5
, Obao
, and Orbit Gum.
Dickinson looked for ways to sustain her relevance within the fashion industry as she aged, becoming a fashion photographer. In 2008, Dickinson launched her own jewelry line on HSN.
, she described how she coined the term "supermodel" in 1979. Her manager, concerned that at the peak of her modeling career she was doing too much work, told her, "You are not Superman
." Dickinson replied, "I am not Superman, I am a supermodel."
Dickinson's claims for coining the term "supermodel" and being the first one to represent the title are disputed. The term "supermodel" was already known in the 1940s. The writer Judith Cass used the term in 1942 for her article in the Chicago Tribune
, which headlined "Super Models are Signed for Fashion Show". Later in 1943, Clyde Matthew Dessner used the term in his modeling book. The term was popular throughout the 1960s to 1970s. The New York Times
on March 21, 1967, and The Daily Times
on May 19, 1967, referred to Twiggy
as a supermodel. In 1968, an article in Glamour
described Twiggy, Cheryl Tiegs
, Wilhelmina
, Veruschka
, Jean Shrimpton
and fifteen other top models as "supermodels". The July 8, 1970, issue of The Gazette
described Penelope Tree
as a supermodel. The April 23, 1971, issue of The Hour
headlined one of its articles "Supermodels Reveal Their Beauty Secrets", including an advertisement with the caption
"Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs". The article also says, "The fashion/beauty world is dotted with Supermodels" and "Cybill Shepherd
a Supermodel who may turn into a Superstar." Jean Shrimpton
was also described as a supermodel by Time
in 1971, as were Margaux Hemingway
by Vogue
on September 1, 1975, Beverly Johnson
by Jet
in 1977, and Naomi Sims
in the 1978 book Total Beauty Catalog by K.T. Maclay.
Lisa Fonssagrives
and Dorian Leigh
, whose careers began before Dickinson was born, have been retroactively recognized as the 20th century's first supermodels. Gia Carangi
has also been called the first supermodel as well as Jean Shrimpton
.
. She was hired after producer Tyra Banks
read No Lifeguard On Duty and realized that Dickinson could offer the contestants advice on the perils of the fashion industry. As a panelist, Dickinson became known for her wit and incisive, brutally honest critiques. Dickinson frequently quarreled with her fellow judges, particularly Kimora Lee Simmons
and Nolé Marin
. A recurring source of tension between Dickinson and Banks was the former's dubiety concerning plus-size model
s. After four cycles, Banks fired Dickinson, replacing her with Twiggy
. Dickinson was hurt by the decision. "I was just telling the truth and I was saving these girls from going out there and being told that they're too short, too fat, their skin's not good enough," she said. "I was to America's Next Top Model what Simon Cowell
is to American Idol
."
In 2005, Dickinson was a cast member on The Surreal Life
during its fifth season. She was confronted by cast mate Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
during a publicity photo shoot while Dickinson was posing with a prop knife. After being physically separated by Bronson Pinchot
the two continued to feud throughout the series.
In 2006, Dickinson starred in her own reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
, for the Oxygen
cable-television channel. The program, which ran for four seasons, documented Dickinson launching a new career as a modeling agent. Despite high ratings in key demographics a fifth season was not ordered.
She appeared with English model Abigail Clancy
in Abbey & Janice: Beauty & The Best
, a reality series detailing Clancey's attempt to break into the American modeling market. The show debuted in Britain on May 14, 2007, and premiered in the U.S on Oxygen on February 19, 2008.
In November 2007, Dickinson became one of the celebrities taking part in the UK reality television show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. Dickinson set the record for most Bushtucker trials, competing ten times in a row. In the finale of the series, it was announced that Dickinson had gained second place in the competition, with Christopher Biggins
coming first.
Dickinson was also a contestant for series two of the American version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which began airing in June 2009. She was eliminated from the show on June 18, 2009.
In 2009, Dickinson was a guest judge on the Finnish version
of the Top Model franchise. She created controversy after the claimed effects of accidentally mixing a sleeping aid with champagne caused her to fall down a flight of stairs and burst out at the models. Dickinson was then taken to a hospital where she was told she had no visible injuries. She later then apologized to the models during the show's airing.
Other guest appearances include "Still Charmed and Kicking", an episode of Charmed
in which Paige
disguises herself as Dickinson in order to fool both her sisters and old family friends that people important to her did actually care that she had "died." Her sisters soon find out that "Dickinson" is actually Paige, and they order her to reverse the spell. She made a cameo appearance in Darren Hayes
's music video "On the Verge of Something Wonderful
".
In 2010, Dickinson appeared on the celebrity edition of British dinner-party contest Come Dine With Me
, on which she frequently butted heads with former Page 3 Girl Samantha Fox
over her glamour modeling career, and flirted with Calum Best
.
Dickinson appeared in the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
, which premiered in December 2010.
In 2011, she guest-starred in the episode of 90210
titled "Project Runway".
was Savannah's father. A paternity test proved that the biological father was not Stallone, but Birnbaum. In her books and in interviews, she has also discussed her numerous sexual relationships with male and female celebrities. In addition to Stallone, her past lovers include:
During an episode of the reality show The Surreal Life
, Dickinson revealed in-depth information about the emotional abuse she endured as a child and teenager. She stated to her cast mates, "My father was a pedophile. He was a dark, angry guy. Being forced to have a pedophile for a father is probably the most horrible thing that can happen to a child, bar none." She said, "I survived a monster... 16 years I was forced to keep the secret... If I ever exposed my pedophile father, I would've been murdered. So you know what he did instead? He beat me on a daily basis." In an interview, Dickinson told British magazine Now
, "When he was on the way to the hospital, I tossed his medication out of the car window and didn't tell the doctors. Maybe I wanted to kill the abuser?".
In the first episode of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! on November 12, 2007, Dickinson stated her age as 53. 1954 would be more accurate, but her age at time of high school graduation is as yet unknown. In the eighth episode of the same series, she said, "I waited until I was 32 to get married."
Dickinson's follow-up memoir was Everything About Me is Fake… And I’m Perfect. (2004), in which she describes her life in modeling; her experience with plastic surgery
; and her battles with anorexia
, bulimia
and alcoholism
.
Her next memoir, Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006), is purported to show a lighter and more tender side of Dickinson. In the book, Dickinson discusses the men in her life, and prescribes her rules for dating.
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
.
Initially notable as a model, she has described herself as the first supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
. One of the most successful models throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she expanded her profession to reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
in 2003 by judging for four cycles on America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
. She subsequently opened her own modeling agency
Modeling agency
A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and or the head agency....
in 2005, which was documented in the reality-television series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency is a reality television series that debuted on Oxygen on June 6, 2006. The show has completed four seasons...
(2006–2008).
Early life
She was born in the BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to parents Ray Dickinson, of Belarusian descent, and Jenie Dickinson née Pietrzykoski, of Polish descent. She was raised in Hollywood
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, with two sisters, elder Alexis, who became a real estate agent, and younger Debbie
Debbie Dickinson
Debbie Dickinson is an American actress and fashion model. Born 30 December 1957 in Hollywood, Florida, USA. The youngest of three sisters, Dickinson is of Belarusian and Polish descent. Debbie began modeling in 1975 with Elite Model Management in Paris, France joining her sister, supermodel Janice...
, who also became a model.
Dickinson has been open about the emotional and physical abuse she suffered as a child and teenager, and how her father used to sexually abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
one of her sisters. Of her childhood with her "rageoholic pedophile
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
" of a father, Dickinson stated, "Because I wouldn't give in and let him have sex with me, I was verbally and physically abused on a daily basis. I was told that I looked like a boy and wouldn't amount to anything. I think if you abuse a child, your balls should be cut off. You should be castrated immediately."
Modeling
In the early 1970s, Dickinson moved to New York City to pursue work as a model after winning a national competition called "Miss High Fashion Model." At a time when blue-eyed blondes dominated the fashion scene, Dickinson was turned down several times by modeling agents, including Eileen FordEileen Ford
Eileen Ford is a model agency executive and co-founder, in 1946, with her late husband Gerard William "Jerry" Ford, of Ford Models, one of the earliest and internationally best known modelling agencies in the world.-Early life:...
, who informed Dickinson she was "much too ethnic. You'll never work." She was discovered by the fashion photographer
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
Jacques Silberstein when his girlfriend, actress Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine Bracco is an American actress. She is best known for her TV roles as Dr. Jennifer Melfi on HBO series, The Sopranos, and Angela Rizzoli on the TNT series, Rizzoli & Isles...
, mentioned she liked Dickinson's look. Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina Cooper
Wilhelmina Cooper was a model who began with Ford Models and, at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967.-Life:...
became Dickinson's first agent. Her modeling pursuits led her to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where her "exotic looks" secured her reputation within the European fashion industry.
She returned to New York City in 1978, and spent the next several years working steadily, earning $2,000 per day, nearly four times the standard rate. Dickinson eventually signed with Ford Models
Ford Models
The Ford Modeling Agency, or as it is known today Ford Models, is a modeling agency in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen and the late Gerard W. Ford.-Company:...
to land a major ad campaign for a new JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
camera. Dickinson, who had not forgotten Ford's initial rejection, was intent on revenge. She soon became one of twenty Ford models to defect to John Casablancas's upstart Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management is a large modeling agency based in New York and Paris. It is a subsidiary of Elite World S.A.-History:Founded in France in 1972 by John Casablancas and Alain Kittler, it was rebought in 1990 by Nicholas Farrae. Elite World S.A. is the parent company of Elite Model...
.
By the 1980s, Dickinson was considered a supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
, as she "possessed the kind of name and face recognition" that the majority of women in the modeling industry strive to achieve. She appeared within and on covers of magazines including Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, and worked with some of fashion's best-known names, including Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
, Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John,...
, Valentino, Azzedine Alaïa
Azzedine Alaia
Azzedine Alaïa is a Tunisian-born couturier and shoe designer, particularly successful since the 1980s.-Biography:Alaïa was born in Siliana, Tunisia on 7 June 1940. His parents were wheat farmers but his glamorous twin sister inspired his love for couture. A French friend of his mother fed Alaïa's...
, Pino Lancetti, Halston
Halston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, and Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
. Dickinson has appeared on the cover of Vogue (both American and international editions) 37 times. She appeared on the cover of Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
seven times in a row and has been the face of ad campaigns for products including Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, Alberto VO5
Alberto-Culver
Alberto-Culver is an American corporation with international sales whose principal business is manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collinge, St. Ives , TRESemmé, FDS, Consort, and Nexxus. It is a manufacturer in the multicultural beauty care...
, Obao
Garnier
Garnier is a mass market cosmetics brand of L'Oréal that produces hair care and skin care products. Much like other brands from L'Oréal, it is sold in several markets around the world.- Advertising Slogans :...
, and Orbit Gum.
Dickinson looked for ways to sustain her relevance within the fashion industry as she aged, becoming a fashion photographer. In 2008, Dickinson launched her own jewelry line on HSN.
First supermodel
Dickinson is the self-proclaimed "world's first supermodel". In E! Network's E! True Hollywood StoryE! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...
, she described how she coined the term "supermodel" in 1979. Her manager, concerned that at the peak of her modeling career she was doing too much work, told her, "You are not Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
." Dickinson replied, "I am not Superman, I am a supermodel."
Dickinson's claims for coining the term "supermodel" and being the first one to represent the title are disputed. The term "supermodel" was already known in the 1940s. The writer Judith Cass used the term in 1942 for her article in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, which headlined "Super Models are Signed for Fashion Show". Later in 1943, Clyde Matthew Dessner used the term in his modeling book. The term was popular throughout the 1960s to 1970s. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on March 21, 1967, and The Daily Times
The Daily Times (Salisbury)
The Daily Times is a morning daily English-language publication based in Salisbury, Maryland. It has been a Gannett publication since 2002.-History:The Daily Times was first owned by the Truitt family of Salisbury, Maryland...
on May 19, 1967, referred to Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
as a supermodel. In 1968, an article in Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
described Twiggy, Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Rae Tiegs is an American model and actress.- Early years :Tiegs was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota but raised in Alhambra, California, and she graduated from Alhambra High School in 1965. She also attended the California State University, Los Angeles and became a little sister to the Sigma...
, Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina Cooper
Wilhelmina Cooper was a model who began with Ford Models and, at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967.-Life:...
, Veruschka
Veruschka
Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort is a German model, actress, and artist who was popular during the 1960s...
, Jean Shrimpton
Jean Shrimpton
Jean Rosemary Shrimpton is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels....
and fifteen other top models as "supermodels". The July 8, 1970, issue of The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
described Penelope Tree
Penelope Tree
Penelope Tree is an Anglo-American former fashion model prominent in swinging sixties London.-Life and career:She was the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a socialite and Democratic political activist, and Ronald Tree, a bisexual journalist, investor and MP. Tree is a great-granddaughter of...
as a supermodel. The April 23, 1971, issue of The Hour
The Hour (newspaper)
The Hour is a daily newspaper published in Norwalk, Connecticut. It serves the municipalities of Norwalk, Wilton, Westport, Weston and Stamford. The newspaper was founded in 1871. It was published under the title The Evening Hour from 1895 into the 1900s, at which point it was renamed The Norwalk...
headlined one of its articles "Supermodels Reveal Their Beauty Secrets", including an advertisement with the caption
Photo caption
Photo captions, also known as cutlines, are a few lines of text used to explain or elaborate on published photographs.Captions more than a few sentences long are often referred to as a "copy block". They are a type of display copy...
"Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs". The article also says, "The fashion/beauty world is dotted with Supermodels" and "Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
a Supermodel who may turn into a Superstar." Jean Shrimpton
Jean Shrimpton
Jean Rosemary Shrimpton is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels....
was also described as a supermodel by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
in 1971, as were Margaux Hemingway
Margaux Hemingway
Margaux Hemingway was an American fashion model and actress.- Early life :Margot Louise Hemingway was born in Portland, Oregon, and was the older sister of actress Mariel Hemingway and the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway...
by Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
on September 1, 1975, Beverly Johnson
Beverly Johnson
Beverly Johnson is an American model, actress, and businesswoman. She made history when she rose to fame as the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue in 1974...
by Jet
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
in 1977, and Naomi Sims
Naomi Sims
Naomi Ruth Sims was an African American model, businesswoman and author., who is widely credited as being the first African American supermodel.-Early life:...
in the 1978 book Total Beauty Catalog by K.T. Maclay.
Lisa Fonssagrives
Lisa Fonssagrives
Lisa Fonssagrives , born Lisa Birgitta Bernstone was a Swedish fashion model widely credited as the first supermodel.-Biography:...
and Dorian Leigh
Dorian Leigh
Dorian Leigh was an American model and one of the earliest modelling icons of the fashion industry. She is considered one of the first supermodels and was well known in the United States and Europe.-Biography:Dorian Leigh Parker was born in San Antonio, Texas, to George and Elizabeth Parker...
, whose careers began before Dickinson was born, have been retroactively recognized as the 20th century's first supermodels. Gia Carangi
Gia Carangi
Gia Marie Carangi was an American fashion model during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Carangi is considered by some to be the first supermodel, although that title has been given to others, including Janice Dickinson, Dorian Leigh, and Jean Shrimpton...
has also been called the first supermodel as well as Jean Shrimpton
Jean Shrimpton
Jean Rosemary Shrimpton is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels....
.
Television
In 2003, Dickinson returned to media attention with her stint as a judge on the reality television series America's Next Top ModelAmerica's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
. She was hired after producer Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
read No Lifeguard On Duty and realized that Dickinson could offer the contestants advice on the perils of the fashion industry. As a panelist, Dickinson became known for her wit and incisive, brutally honest critiques. Dickinson frequently quarreled with her fellow judges, particularly Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, and former president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions.-Early life:...
and Nolé Marin
Nolé Marin
Nolé Marin is a fashion industry notable. He is a fashion stylist who occasionally does hair and wardrobe for models before their shoots, and well as organize spreads within ELLE magazine itself...
. A recurring source of tension between Dickinson and Banks was the former's dubiety concerning plus-size model
Plus-size model
Plus-size model is a term applied to a person who is engaged primarily in modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size models also engaged in work that is not strictly related to selling large-sized clothing, e.g., stock photography and advertising photography for cosmetics, household and pharmaceutical...
s. After four cycles, Banks fired Dickinson, replacing her with Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
. Dickinson was hurt by the decision. "I was just telling the truth and I was saving these girls from going out there and being told that they're too short, too fat, their skin's not good enough," she said. "I was to America's Next Top Model what Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
is to American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
."
In 2005, Dickinson was a cast member on The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select group of past-their-prime celebrities and records them as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks...
during its fifth season. She was confronted by cast mate Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
Omaroseonee Manigault-Stallworth , usually known simply as Omarosa, is a two-time participant on Donald Trump's television reality show The Apprentice.-Early life:Manigault-Stallworth was born in Youngstown, Ohio...
during a publicity photo shoot while Dickinson was posing with a prop knife. After being physically separated by Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
the two continued to feud throughout the series.
In 2006, Dickinson starred in her own reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency is a reality television series that debuted on Oxygen on June 6, 2006. The show has completed four seasons...
, for the Oxygen
Oxygen (TV channel)
Oxygen is an American cable television specialty channel with television programming marketed towards women, with a format similar to Lifetime.- History :...
cable-television channel. The program, which ran for four seasons, documented Dickinson launching a new career as a modeling agent. Despite high ratings in key demographics a fifth season was not ordered.
She appeared with English model Abigail Clancy
Abigail Clancy
Abigail Marie "Abbey" Crouch is a British lingerie and catwalk model and television presenter.-Early life:...
in Abbey & Janice: Beauty & The Best
Janice & Abbey
Janice & Abbey is a short-lived reality-television series following the attempt by British model Abigail Clancy to break into the American modeling market under the guidance of American supermodel Janice Dickinson...
, a reality series detailing Clancey's attempt to break into the American modeling market. The show debuted in Britain on May 14, 2007, and premiered in the U.S on Oxygen on February 19, 2008.
In November 2007, Dickinson became one of the celebrities taking part in the UK reality television show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. Dickinson set the record for most Bushtucker trials, competing ten times in a row. In the finale of the series, it was announced that Dickinson had gained second place in the competition, with Christopher Biggins
Christopher Biggins
Christopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...
coming first.
Dickinson was also a contestant for series two of the American version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which began airing in June 2009. She was eliminated from the show on June 18, 2009.
In 2009, Dickinson was a guest judge on the Finnish version
Suomen huippumalli haussa, Cycle 2
Cycle two of Suomen huippumalli haussa began filming in autumn 2008 and began airing 13 April 2009 at 20.00 on the Finnish channel Nelonen. The prize for the winner was a contract with Paparazzi Model Management, the front cover of Finnish Cosmopolitan and becoming the new spokesperson for Max...
of the Top Model franchise. She created controversy after the claimed effects of accidentally mixing a sleeping aid with champagne caused her to fall down a flight of stairs and burst out at the models. Dickinson was then taken to a hospital where she was told she had no visible injuries. She later then apologized to the models during the show's airing.
Other guest appearances include "Still Charmed and Kicking", an episode of Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
in which Paige
Paige Matthews
Paige Matthews is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. One of the featured leads, Paige is introduced at the start of season four as the fourth Halliwell sister and youngest Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Rose McGowan...
disguises herself as Dickinson in order to fool both her sisters and old family friends that people important to her did actually care that she had "died." Her sisters soon find out that "Dickinson" is actually Paige, and they order her to reverse the spell. She made a cameo appearance in Darren Hayes
Darren Hayes
Darren Stanley Hayes is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States...
's music video "On the Verge of Something Wonderful
On the Verge of Something Wonderful
"On the Verge of Something Wonderful" is a song in the electronica and pop genres written by Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hayes and Robert Conley for Hayes' third solo album This Delicate Thing We've Made . The song is the first single to be released off the album; it was released in...
".
In 2010, Dickinson appeared on the celebrity edition of British dinner-party contest Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
, on which she frequently butted heads with former Page 3 Girl Samantha Fox
Samantha Fox
Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English dance-pop singer, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at the age of 16, she began her topless modeling career on Page Three of The Sun, and went on to become a popular pin-up girl...
over her glamour modeling career, and flirted with Calum Best
Calum Best
Calum Milan Best is a British-American former fashion model turned celebrity, and television personality.-Career:...
.
Dickinson appeared in the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew is a reality television show airing on the cable network VH1 that chronicles a group of celebrities as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The first season premiered...
, which premiered in December 2010.
In 2011, she guest-starred in the episode of 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
titled "Project Runway".
Music
In 2009, Dickinson recorded a song entitled "Crazy", which was written and produced by Craig Taylor.Personal life
Dickinson has been married three times. Her former husbands are Ron Levy, Simon Fields (1987–1993) and Albert B. Gerston (February 1995–1996; also recorded as Alan B. Gersten). With Fields she had a son, Nathan Ray Michael Fields (born May 5, 1987). She has a daughter, Savannah Rodin Dickinson (born February 23, 1994), by former boyfriend, Michael Birnbaum. Dickinson thought that Sylvester StalloneSylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
was Savannah's father. A paternity test proved that the biological father was not Stallone, but Birnbaum. In her books and in interviews, she has also discussed her numerous sexual relationships with male and female celebrities. In addition to Stallone, her past lovers include:
- Warren BeattyWarren BeattyWarren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
- Jack NicholsonJack NicholsonJohn Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
- Liam NeesonLiam NeesonLiam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
- Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
- Ronnie Wood
- Kelly LeBrockKelly LeBrockKelly LeBrock is an American actress and model. Her acting debut was in The Woman in Red co-starring with comedian Gene Wilder. She also starred in the film Weird Science, directed by John Hughes.-Early life:...
- Prince Albert II
- Roman PolanskiRoman PolanskiRoman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
- Dolph LundgrenDolph LundgrenDolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
- Grace JonesGrace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
- Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
- Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
- John CusackJohn CusackJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
- David O'HaraDavid O'HaraDavid O'Hara is a Scottish actor.-Life and career:O'Hara was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Martha and Patrick O'Hara, a construction worker....
- Jon LovitzJon LovitzJonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
During an episode of the reality show The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select group of past-their-prime celebrities and records them as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks...
, Dickinson revealed in-depth information about the emotional abuse she endured as a child and teenager. She stated to her cast mates, "My father was a pedophile. He was a dark, angry guy. Being forced to have a pedophile for a father is probably the most horrible thing that can happen to a child, bar none." She said, "I survived a monster... 16 years I was forced to keep the secret... If I ever exposed my pedophile father, I would've been murdered. So you know what he did instead? He beat me on a daily basis." In an interview, Dickinson told British magazine Now
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
, "When he was on the way to the hospital, I tossed his medication out of the car window and didn't tell the doctors. Maybe I wanted to kill the abuser?".
Age
Dickinson's date of birth is variously stated as February 15, 17, or 28 in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, or 1960. In Dickinson's autobiography No Lifeguard on Duty, she wrote, "When I was just eighteen months old, in 1957, the family moved from Brooklyn to Florida." She also graduated in 1973 from South Broward High School in Hollywood, making 1955 her more likely year of birth.In the first episode of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! on November 12, 2007, Dickinson stated her age as 53. 1954 would be more accurate, but her age at time of high school graduation is as yet unknown. In the eighth episode of the same series, she said, "I waited until I was 32 to get married."
As an author
Dickinson released a memoir detailing her "wild days" as a supermodel. Entitled No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World’s First Supermodel (2002), the book was effective in introducing her to a new generation.Dickinson's follow-up memoir was Everything About Me is Fake… And I’m Perfect. (2004), in which she describes her life in modeling; her experience with plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
; and her battles with anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
, bulimia
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed, usually by purging and/or by laxative, diuretics or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is...
and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Her next memoir, Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006), is purported to show a lighter and more tender side of Dickinson. In the book, Dickinson discusses the men in her life, and prescribes her rules for dating.
See also
- List of people from Florida
- List of people from Brooklyn, New York
- List of women writers