Quote:
American Vogue's first black cover girl
By Claire Bowes
BBC World Service
Model agents told her she'd never make it, hairdressers refused to touch her hair and Kodak didn't even make film that could cope with her skin tone, but somehow 40 years ago Beverly Johnson became the first black woman on the cover of American Vogue.
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"Everyone turned me down. The Eileen Ford model agency said I was too heavy. Then three days later, they called me back and said, 'Oh you lost so much weight!' but I hadn't lost a pound."
Johnson says this was her first lesson in how the modelling business works - "A lot of BS."
Eileen Ford took her on after realising that she was getting lots of assignments for Glamour magazine, but warned her: "You're never going to be on the cover of Vogue. You're doing all this other work for Glamour and you should count your lucky stars."
This did not put her off - she just dumped Eileen Ford.
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Then in August 1974 Vogue photographer Francesco Scavullo, photographed Johnson. She didn't know it at the time but it was a cover shoot. In those days, as a model, you didn't know you were going to be on the cover until the magazine went on sale.
"Back then in New York the covers would be the banner all around the newsstand… I saw it and I just stopped in my tracks… Then I made a collect call to my mother on a payphone and told her, and I remember us just screaming and crying."
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For the full article and source:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28562316
Found it a very fascinating read. Interesting how strong this woman was at the time, truly an icon
