
Sara Nuru

The first notable African American fashion model and the first black cover girl. In March 1966 she became the first African American model to appear on the cover of Vogue, a foreign issue. Earlier, she had appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. Time Magazine once called her “unquestionably the hottest model in Europe” when she was 20 years old.

Cordie King, a very popular Chicago-based model, in Jet – where she appeared on a regular basis – July 15, 1954. One of the original EBONY Fashion Fair models, the Mississippi-born King was once engaged to Sammy Davis, Jr. She went on to open a modeling agency and charm school called Cordie King’s Castle which produced graduates such as journalist and author Janet Langhart Cohen. She died at age 80 in 2004.
http://youtu.be/TCpXLQTQepo
Somali nomad Waris Dirie runs away from an arranged marriage at the age of 13 and ends up on the fashion runways of London, Paris, and New York. She also becomes a UN special ambassador, speaking out about the traditions that harm women worldwide. Based on the autobiographical novel by Waris Dirie, this inspiring story had thrilled audiences in Europe and now National Geographic Entertainment is bringing it to U.S. theaters. Out Now

Model Barbara Summers in a 1970s advertisement for Avon. A novelist and a fashion historian, she is the author of Black and Beautiful: How Women of Color Changed The Fashion Industry.
Charlene Almarvez