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ShareBeverly Johnson didn't set out make history by becoming the first black model to grace the cover of Vogue in 1974.
She was a skilled swimmer — a jock who lived in sweats — and who wanted to become a lawyer.
Now 56, Johnson is a fashion brand with her Beverly Johnson Hair Collection, a multimillion-dollar line of wigs and hair extensions, and a judge on the TV Land reality series, She's Got the Look, which seeks the next super model older than 35.
An avid golfer, Johnson's career has spanned three decades. She's written two books, Beverly Johnson's Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty and True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color, and has graced more than 500 magazine covers, including Glamour and Essence.
Q: Are there opportunities for models older than 35?
A: Definitely. When I started modeling, you were just finished with your career after age 25. It was over. Now, we see that there is a market for the 30-year-old, the 40-year-old and the 50-year-old. When you're buying a dress or toothpaste, you hope to see someone your own age selling the product, and there's a lot of commercial work. It's true we're looking better and living longer, and it's nice to be acknowledged and celebrated in the way that the show does.
Q: How did you get started?
A: It was a fluke. I wanted to be a lawyer. I was going off to Northeastern University in Boston, so my mom made me go to work in a department store so I could get clothing for school. All I had were sweats. A woman there kept talking to me about becoming a model, and I thought she was nuts. She gave me the name of woman in New York to call. When I found out models could make $75 an hour, I called her.
Q: Was it a big deal in 1974 to be the first black woman on the cover of Vogue?
A: It was a big deal for any model to get the cover, but I had no idea there had never been a person of color on the magazine. I was taken aback at first, then I got angry. This was the '70s, I mean — a time of civil rights advancements. It was a reality check for me in the way the world viewed me and my place in America. It was also the highlight of my life.
Q: How do you see it now? A: It is more significant to me now than it’s ever been. Eight years ago, there was a Jeopardy question on who was the first model to grace the cover of Vogue. The choices included Diana Ross and Christie Brinkley, and no one got it right. I knew then I had to let people know the answer.Q: But there still seems to be a lack of models of color, right?
A: Most editors and designers don't even know that they are discriminating because it's so ingrained. You would think it wouldn't happen, but thank goodness for magazines like Essence and Ebony and the people in the industry who have forged their own path.
Q: How did you get into the wig and hair-extension business?
A: Someone came to me with this $300,000 company that was going bankrupt, and I wasn't even wearing hair extensions at the time. The next year we made a $1 million. We went to $20 million wholesale, $60 million retail, in six years. I also have a hair care line coming out in March.
Q: Why are hair extensions and pieces so common now?
A: We have a love affair with hair. Black women have been changing our look with hair forever. It’s a way to empower yourself and feel beautiful.
Q: Were you pleased your daughter, Anansa Sims, went into modeling?
A: Not at first. It's a tough business. It's like being an NBA player; the chances of you going to the NBA are very slight. She initially went to New York and became really skinny. But when she started getting recognition, she quit. She said, “I'm hungry, and they're still telling me I've got to lose more weight.” So she came home, got her master's degree and became a financial analyst. Last year, she signed on with Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in New York as a plus-size model.
Q: What size is she?
A: She's a 12. In that world, 8 is a plus size. (She's 25.)
Q: What size were you when you modeled?
A: I was 103 to 117 pounds. I can’t tell you how painfully thin that is at 5 feet, 9 inches. Models were always thin, and that’s the way it’s always been.
Q: What would people be surprised to know about you?
A; I’m not super-motivated to be famous. I’d rather play golf and have friends over. I live on the PGA West Stadium Golf Course in La Quinta, Calif., it’s one of the top courses in the world, so I play or practice every day I can.
Q: And are you a fashionista?
A: I love beautiful things, but I can’t go shopping. If I go into stores and see all those clothes, it reminds me of how many fashion shoots I had to do. I’ve never been a real fashion person.
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