Supermodel Donyale Luna

Donyale Luna (January 1, 1945 - May 17, 1979) became the first Black supermodel. She was born Peggy Anne Freeman in Detroit, Michigan. Despite the parentage stated on her birth certificate, she insisted that her biological father was a man with the surname Luna and that her mother was Mexican.

At the height of her career, the New York Times called Luna “a stunning Negro model whose face had the hauteur and feline grace of Nefertiti.” In 1966, Beatrix Miller, the editor of British Vogue Magazine, chose her as the first-ever Black model for that magazine’s cover. It was because of “her bite and personality.” Luna became one of the first Black models to attain superstar status in Europe.