Naomi Sims
| Naomi Sims | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 30, 1948 Oxford, Mississippi |
| Died | August 1, 2009 (aged 61) Newark, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Model, writer, businesswoman |
| Spouse(s) | Michael Findlay (m. 1973–91) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Manager | Wilhelmina Models |
Naomi Ruth Sims (March 30, 1948 – August 1, 2009) was an American model, businesswoman and author, She was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Ladies' Home Journal, and is widely credited as being the first African-American supermodel.
Sims was born in Oxford, Mississippi, 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 the age of 13. Mrs Sims later moved with her three daughters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Naomi's mother was forced to put her child into foster care. 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.
Sims began college after winning a scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, while also taking night classes in psychology at New York University. Her early attempts to get modeling work through established 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 Gösta 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 the Times 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:
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