Naomi Sims
Encyclopedia
Naomi Ruth Sims was an African American
model
, businesswoman and author
., who is widely credited as being the first African American supermodel
.
, the youngest of three daughters born to John and Elizabeth Sims. Her father (whom she never knew) reportedly worked as a porter, but Sims' mother later described him "an absolute bum" and her parents divorced shortly after she was born.She was teased for her height of 5’10 at age 13. Mrs Sims later moved with her three daughters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
where Naomi was subsequently raised by a foster family. She attended Westinghouse High School
. There due to
her height, she was ostracized by many of her classmates. Sims credited her upbringing
as a Catholic for helping to get her through adolescence.
in New York City
, while also taking night classes in psychology at New York University
. Her early attempts to get modeling work through e'll;stablished agencies were frustrated by racial prejudice, with some agencies telling her that her skin was too dark. Her first career breakthrough came after she decided to sidestep the agencies and go directly to fashion photographers and Gosta Peterson, a photographer for The New York Times
, agreed to photograph her for the cover of the paper's August 1967 fashion supplement.
Despite this breakthrough, Sims still found it difficult to get work, so she approached Wilhelmina Cooper
, a former model who was starting her own agency, saying that she would send out copies of theTimes supplement to advertising agencies, attaching Cooper's telephone number, and that Cooper's agency would get a commission if Naomi received any work. Within a year Sims was earning US$1000 a week. The key breakthrough came when she was selected for a national television campaign for AT&T
, wearing clothes by designer Bill Blass
. In 1968 Sims told Ladies' Home Journal
:
movement". She also appeared on the cover of the October 17, 1969 issue of Life
magazine. This was the first African American model on the cover of the magazine. The images from the 1967 New York Times fashion magazine cover and the 1969 Life magazine cover were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in an exhibition entitled The Model as Muse.
By 1972, Hollywood took an interest in her as a potential actress and offered her the title role in the movie Cleopatra Jones
, but when Sims read the script, she was appalled by the racist portrayal of blacks in the movie and turned it down. Sims ultimately decided to go into the beauty business for herself.
In 1973, she married art dealer Michael Findlay. Findlay and Sims caused a stir as Findlay was white and inter-racial marriage in 1973 was still considered taboo. Findlay and Sims were both, interestingly, profiled separately in the February 1, 1970 issue of VOGUE magazine before they met and married. Sims also retired from modeling in 1973 to start her own business which created a successful wig collection fashioned after the texture of straightened black hair. It eventually expanded "into a multimillion-dollar beauty empire and at least five books on modeling and beauty."
She authored several book
s on modeling, health, and beauty, including All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, How to Be a Top Model and All About Success for the Black Woman, as well as an advice column for teenage girls in Right On!
magazine.
on August 1, 2009, aged 61, in Newark, New Jersey
. Her 1973 marriage to Michael Findlay ended in divorce in 1991. She is survived by their son, Bob Findlay, a granddaughter, and her elder sister, Betty Sims. Her eldest sister, Doris, died in 2008.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, businesswoman and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
., who is widely credited as being the first African American 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...
.
Early life
Sims was born in Oxford, MississippiOxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
, the youngest of three daughters born to John and Elizabeth Sims. Her father (whom she never knew) reportedly worked as a porter, but Sims' mother later described him "an absolute bum" and her parents divorced shortly after she was born.She was teased for her height of 5’10 at age 13. Mrs Sims later moved with her three daughters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
where Naomi was subsequently raised by a foster family. She attended Westinghouse High School
Westinghouse High School
Westinghouse High School can refer to:* Westinghouse High School , Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, New York City Department of Education, Brooklyn, New York...
. There due to
her height, she was ostracized by many of her classmates. Sims credited her upbringing
as a Catholic for helping to get her through adolescence.
Career
Sims began college after winning a scholarship to the Fashion Institute of TechnologyFashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
in 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...
, while also taking night classes in psychology at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Her early attempts to get modeling work through e'll;stablished agencies were frustrated by racial prejudice, with some agencies telling her that her skin was too dark. Her first career breakthrough came after she decided to sidestep the agencies and go directly to fashion photographers and Gosta Peterson, a photographer for 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...
, agreed to photograph her for the cover of the paper's August 1967 fashion supplement.
Despite this breakthrough, Sims still found it difficult to get work, so she approached Wilhelmina Cooper
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:...
, a former model who was starting her own agency, saying that she would send out copies of theTimes supplement to advertising agencies, attaching Cooper's telephone number, and that Cooper's agency would get a commission if Naomi received any work. Within a year Sims was earning US$1000 a week. The key breakthrough came when she was selected for a national television campaign for AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, wearing clothes by designer Bill Blass
Bill Blass
William Ralph "Bill" Blass was an American fashion designer, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is known for his tailoring and his innovative combinations of textures and patterns...
. In 1968 Sims told Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
:
- "It helped me more than anything else because it showed my face. After it was aired, people wanted to find out about me and use me."
Cover girl
She became one of the first successful black models while still in her teens, and achieved worldwide recognition from the late 1960s into the early 1970s, appearing on the covers of prestigious fashion and popular magazines. The New York Times wrote that (her) "appearance as the first black model on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in November 1968 was a consummate moment of the Black is BeautifulBlack is beautiful
Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that began in the United States of America in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread to much of the black world, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko in South Africa...
movement". She also appeared on the cover of the October 17, 1969 issue of Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine. This was the first African American model on the cover of the magazine. The images from the 1967 New York Times fashion magazine cover and the 1969 Life magazine cover were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in an exhibition entitled The Model as Muse.
By 1972, Hollywood took an interest in her as a potential actress and offered her the title role in the movie Cleopatra Jones
Cleopatra Jones
-Plot:Cleopatra Jones is a strikingly beautiful black model with an array of flamboyant outfits. Modeling, however, is only a cover for her real job as a secret government agent. Jones is a Bond-like heroine with power and influence; an object of awe for her flashy wardrobe, her ’73 silver and...
, but when Sims read the script, she was appalled by the racist portrayal of blacks in the movie and turned it down. Sims ultimately decided to go into the beauty business for herself.
In 1973, she married art dealer Michael Findlay. Findlay and Sims caused a stir as Findlay was white and inter-racial marriage in 1973 was still considered taboo. Findlay and Sims were both, interestingly, profiled separately in the February 1, 1970 issue of VOGUE magazine before they met and married. Sims also retired from modeling in 1973 to start her own business which created a successful wig collection fashioned after the texture of straightened black hair. It eventually expanded "into a multimillion-dollar beauty empire and at least five books on modeling and beauty."
She authored several book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s on modeling, health, and beauty, including All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, How to Be a Top Model and All About Success for the Black Woman, as well as an advice column for teenage girls in Right On!
Right On!
Right On! is an American teen magazine. It is published by Dorchester Media in New York City, and it was a sister publication of Tiger Beat....
magazine.
Death
She died of breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
on August 1, 2009, aged 61, in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Her 1973 marriage to Michael Findlay ended in divorce in 1991. She is survived by their son, Bob Findlay, a granddaughter, and her elder sister, Betty Sims. Her eldest sister, Doris, died in 2008.