American model, actress (born 1952)
Beverly Johnson
|
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Johnson in 2007
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Born
| (
1952-10-13
)
October 13, 1952
(age 71)
|
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Nationality
| American
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Alma mater
| Northeastern University
|
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Occupations
| - Model
- actress
- singer
- businesswoman
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Years active
| 1970?present
|
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Known for
| First
African-American model
on
Vogue
cover, August 1974
[2]
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Children
| 1
|
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Modeling information
|
Height
| 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
|
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Hair color
| Dark brown
|
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Eye color
| Brown
|
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|
Beverly Ann Johnson
[1]
[3]
(born October 13, 1952)
[4]
is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first black model to appear on the cover of American
Vogue
in August 1974, after
Donyale Luna
was the first black model to appear on the cover of British Vogue in 1966.
[5]
[6]
In 2012, Johnson was the star of the reality series
Beverly's Full House
that aired on the
Oprah Winfrey Network
(OWN). In 2008,
The New York Times
named Johnson one of the 20th century's most influential people in fashion.
[7]
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Born the first of two children to Gloria Johnson,
[8]
a surgical technician, Johnson was raised in a middle-class family in
Buffalo, New York
. During her youth, Johnson was a champion swimmer and aspired to be a lawyer.
[4]
Johnson attended
Bennett High School
,
[9]
graduating in 1969.
[1]
After high school, Johnson went on to study criminal justice at
Northeastern University
. While in college, Johnson tried modeling
[10]
while on summer break in 1971.
[4]
She quickly landed an assignment with
Glamour
and began working steadily.
[10]
She went on to appear on more than 500 magazine covers, including the August 1974 issue of
Vogue
, becoming the magazine's first African-American cover model for the US edition, after Donyale Luna's 1966 British Vogue cover.
[4]
Her appearance on the cover changed the beauty ideal in US fashion, and by 1975, every major American fashion designer had begun using African-American models.
[11]
In addition to modeling, Johnson has also written the books
Beverly Johnson's Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty
[12]
and
True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color
.
[13]
Johnson's acting career
[14]
consists of roles in the films
Ashanti
(1979),
The Meteor Man
(1993),
Def Jam's How to Be a Player
(1997), and
Crossroads
(2002). She has appeared in guest spots on 7 television series, including
Martin
(TV series)
,
Law & Order
,
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
,
The Parent 'Hood
and the
Super Bowl episode
of
3rd Rock from the Sun
(1998). She served for two seasons as a celebrity judge on the
TV Land
series
She's Got the Look
, a
reality series
, where women aged over 35 compete for a modeling contract and magazine spread. At the start of the series in 2008, Johnson shared that she and other models had suffered from
anorexia
and
bulimia
during her career.
[15]
She had a brief singing career, releasing one album in 1979 on
Buddah Records
. Johnson has been a longtime hair and beauty influencer.
[
citation needed
]
Johnson received the
Women's Entrepreneurship Day
Organization’s Model Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022, celebrating her as a trailblazer and innovator in her field. The prestigious award, also recognized by the US Congress, highlights women entrepreneurs and the meaningful impact they are having on the world.
[16]
In 2024, Johnson embarked on a one-woman off-Broadway show entitled
Beverly Johnson: In Vogue
. It was characterized as an "intimate, live biography with Johnson taking the stage to share her personal dispatches in the ever-shifting, but never dull, fashion and entertainment industries."
[17]
Memoir and accusation against Bill Cosby
[
edit
]
In late 2014, she wrote an article for
Vanity Fair
[18]
in which she accused
Bill Cosby
of drugging her in a meeting at his Manhattan residence in the 1980s, although the incident did not result in a sexual assault. Johnson said that Cosby spiked a cup of
cappuccino
with an unknown drug. As she felt her "body go completely limp," she realized what was happening. Johnson said she then screamed and cursed at him several times before Cosby got angry and dragged her outside and hailed a cab for her. Johnson decided to tell her story in hopes that "by going public" she would "encourage anyone [who] has been sexually victimized to speak out."
[19]
[20]
Her memoir,
The Face That Changed It All
, which discusses the Cosby incident, was released on August 25, 2015.
Subsequently, Cosby started a defamation lawsuit against Johnson, stating that she was lying about the drugging incident and contending that Johnson's story, first told in the
Vanity Fair
article, had been repeated in numerous interviews. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent Johnson from repeating her claims and to require her to remove them from her memoir.
[21]
Cosby dropped the lawsuit on February 19, 2016, allegedly to devote more time to his criminal case.
[22]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Johnson has been married twice. Her first marriage was to real estate agent Billy Potter in 1971, later divorcing in 1974. On May 8, 1977,
[23]
[24]
Johnson, then aged 25, married 40-year-old businessman and music producer Danny Sims.
[25]
[26]
She gave birth to their daughter, Anansa Sims on December 27, 1978, in New York City.
[27]
[14]
Johnson and Sims divorced in 1979. Johnson and actor
Chris Noth
were in a five-year relationship until 1995.
[28]
She filed a restraining order against Noth, accusing him of physical, verbal and racial abuse.
[29]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Albums
[
edit
]
- Don't Lose The Feeling
(1979)
Singles
[
edit
]
- "Don't Lose The Feeling" (1979)
- "Don't Run for a Cover" (1979)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"1969 Bennett High School 200 (Buffalo, New York)"
.
Classmates.com
. 1969
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"NO 1. Black Model Keeps Her Mind In 'Right' Places"
.
JET Magazine
. Johnson Publishing Company. May 8, 1975
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
"UNCF Aided By $25Gs From Arthur Ashe Benefit March"
.
JET Magazine
. Johnson Publishing Company. November 20, 1975
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Johnson, Beverly (1952? )"
. Blackapast.org. December 17, 2010
. Retrieved
December 11,
2014
.
- ^
Iconic Cover Girls
Archived
October 17, 2010, at
archive.today
? Coco & Creme
- ^
Sewing, Joy (August 23, 2009),
"Beverly Johnson's got the right attitude"
,
The Houston Chronicle
. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
- ^
Dennis, Alicia Diaz,
"Fashion Influential #68: Beverly Johnson"
, Zimbio, December 11, 2008.
- ^
Nikuradse, Tamara (1996).
My Mother Had a Dream: African-American Women Share Their Mothers' Words of Wisdom
. Dutton.
ISBN
9780525941118
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
beverly johnson gloria johnson.
- ^
"1968 Bennett High School 200 (Buffalo, New York)"
.
Classmates.com
. 1968
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"The Body Game"
.
People
. January 11, 1993
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
Gross, Michael (2003).
Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women
. HarperCollins. p. 239.
ISBN
0-06-054163-6
.
- ^
"Beverly Johnson: Official Biography"
. amekor.com. Archived from
the original
on July 30, 2008
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
Johnson, Beverly (1994).
True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color
.
ISBN
0446517542
.
- ^
a
b
Levitt, Shelley (August 10, 1992).
"Like Mother, Like."
People
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
Moss, Marilyn (June 2, 2008).
"TV Review: She's Got the Look"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Archived from
the original
on July 16, 2008
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
"CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? Extensions of Remarks"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
January 23,
2024
.
- ^
Correspondent, Rita Charleston Tribune (January 7, 2024).
"Off-Broadway show offers an intimate look into Beverly Johnson's life"
.
The Philadelphia Tribune
. Retrieved
January 23,
2024
.
- ^
Johnson, Beverly
(November 30, 2014).
"Bill Cosby Drugged Me. This Is My Story"
.
Vanity Fair
. Retrieved
January 4,
2016
.
- ^
Leopold, Todd (December 13, 2014).
"Famed model Beverly Johnson says Bill Cosby drugged her"
. CNN.
- ^
Ellis, Ralph (December 22, 2015).
"Bill Cosby sues supermodel Beverly Johnson for defamation"
. CNN
. Retrieved
January 3,
2016
.
- ^
"Bill Cosby sues model Beverly Johnson over drugging claim"
. FOX 23. December 21, 2015
. Retrieved
December 21,
2015
.
- ^
"Cosby drops defamation case against model Beverly Johnson"
. Fox News Channel. February 25, 2016
. Retrieved
February 25,
2016
.
- ^
Wohlfert, Lee (October 10, 1977).
"Model Beverly Johnson Weds Businessman Danny Sims and Gets a Svengali in the Bargain"
.
People
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
Kisner, Ronald E. (June 2, 1977).
"Beverly Returns To Buffalo: City Hall Opens On Sunday So Top Model Can Marry"
.
JET Magazine
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
Kenner, Rob (October 30, 2012).
"Danny Sims, Producer Who Signed Bob Marley, Dies at 75"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
Salewicz, Chris (October 14, 2012).
"Danny Sims: Impresario with Mob connections who managed Bob Marley early in his career"
.
The Independent
. Independent UK
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
Johnson, Beverly (2012).
The Face That Changed It All: A Memoir
. Simon and Schuster.
ISBN
9781476774435
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
People Staff (June 1, 2001).
"Chris Noth (mr. Big)"
.
People
.
- ^
Nolan, Emma (December 17, 2021).
"Chris Noth and Beverly Johnson Article Detailing Assault Allegations Resurfaces"
.
Newsweek
. Retrieved
December 21,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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