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Naomi Sims

Naomi Ruth Sims (March 30, 1948 – August 1, 2009) was an American model, businesswoman, and author credited with being the first African-American supermodel.^[1]^[2] Born in Oxford, Mississippi, as the youngest of three daughters to John and Elizabeth Sims, she experienced family separation early when her parents divorced and her mother became ill, leading to time in foster care in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[3]^[1] After attending Westinghouse High School and securing a scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Sims persisted despite rejections from modeling agencies for her skin tone, eventually securing a breakthrough photo spread in The New York Times in 1966.^[2]^[1] Her modeling career peaked in the late 1960s, highlighted by becoming the first black model to appear on the cover of Ladies' Home Journal in November 1968 and on Life magazine in 1969, appearances that challenged prevailing beauty standards and advanced opportunities for darker-skinned models in an industry previously dominated by lighter complexions.^[4]^[1] She worked with designers such as Halston, featured in national campaigns like AT&T while wearing Bill Blass, and retired from runway and print work in 1973 at age 25 after earning up to $1,000 per week.^[3] Transitioning to entrepreneurship, Sims launched the Naomi Sims Collection of wigs in 1973, designed specifically for black women using innovative Kanekalon Presselle fiber, which expanded into cosmetics and a prestige fragrance line, achieving annual sales of $5 million by 1978 and distribution in over 700 stores including Macy's.^[4]^[3] She authored five books, including All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, and wrote an advice column for Right On! magazine, while publicly disclosing her bipolar disorder as the first major celebrity to do so.^[1] Sims died of breast cancer in Newark, New Jersey, survived by her son Bob Findlay from her marriage to art dealer Michael Findlay, which ended in divorce in 1991.^[1]^[3] Her pioneering efforts in modeling and beauty entrepreneurship influenced subsequent generations, including figures like Beverly Johnson, and were later recognized in exhibitions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "The Model as Muse."^[4]^[3]

Early Life

Childhood and Family Background

Naomi Ruth Sims was born on March 30, 1948, in Oxford, Mississippi, as the youngest of three daughters to John Sims, a porter, and Elizabeth Sims.^[1]^[3] Her parents divorced shortly after her birth, leaving her with limited knowledge of her father, whom she later described—based on her mother's accounts—as "an important man to several women" but otherwise absent from her life.^[5] Following the divorce, Sims and her family relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where her mother subsequently became ill, prompting the placement of Sims and her sisters in foster care.^[1]^[3] This period of instability marked her early years, as she grew up in foster homes within a predominantly poor white neighborhood, facing social isolation due to her height—she stood at 5 feet 10 inches by her high school freshman year—and other insecurities that she later cited as driving her ambition.^[5]^[3]

Education and Move to New York

Sims attended Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she grew up after her family relocated from Oxford, Mississippi.^[6]^[1] She graduated from the school before pursuing higher education.^[7] In 1966, following high school, Sims moved to New York City, where she secured a scholarship to enroll at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).^[1]^[8] At FIT, she studied textiles and management, fields that aligned with her emerging interests in fashion and business.^[1] Simultaneously, she took night classes in psychology at New York University to broaden her academic pursuits.^[1] During her time in New York, Sims lived with her sister Betty, a flight attendant, which provided her initial stability in the city as she balanced studies with aspirations in modeling.^[9] This period marked her transition from a challenging upbringing in foster care and relative poverty in Pittsburgh to immersion in New York's competitive fashion environment, though her formal education continued amid early rejections in modeling attempts.^[1]^[8]

Modeling Career

Initial Struggles and Entry

Upon arriving in New York City in 1966 to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology, Naomi Sims sought modeling work to support her studies but encountered widespread rejection from established agencies due to racial prejudice.^[2] Agencies, including Eileen Ford, dismissed her on the grounds that her skin tone was too dark for commercial viability in the predominantly white fashion industry of the era.^[10] This discrimination reflected broader systemic barriers, as Black models were rarely booked for high-profile assignments, with Sims later recounting in interviews that she was turned away by every major agency she approached.^[11] Undeterred, Sims bypassed the agencies by directly contacting fashion photographers listed in directories, leading to a pivotal collaboration with Gösta Peterson, a photographer for The New York Times.^[2] Peterson agreed to shoot her, and the resulting images appeared on the cover of the Times' Fashions of the Times supplement on August 27, 1967, marking her professional breakthrough as one of the first Black women featured prominently in mainstream fashion media.^[12] This exposure secured initial bookings, including a national AT&T television commercial, and gradually opened doors to print work despite ongoing agency reluctance.^[13] By late 1968, it paved the way for her cover of Ladies' Home Journal, further solidifying her entry into the industry.^[14]

Breakthrough Achievements

Sims secured representation through the newly formed Wilhelmina Models agency in 1967, after facing rejections from established agencies due to her skin tone; she had previously appeared in a New York Times fashion supplement advertisement for a hair product, which she leveraged by distributing copies to potential clients in agreement with agency founder Wilhelmina Cooper.^[1] This led to steady bookings, including a national television commercial for AT&T featuring designs by Bill Blass.^[15] ^[16] Her pivotal breakthrough occurred with the November 1968 cover of Ladies' Home Journal, making her the first African American model to appear on the cover of a major mainstream U.S. women's magazine.^[5] ^[1] This feature, shot during a period of limited opportunities for Black models in high fashion, signified a shift toward greater inclusion and elevated her profile internationally.^[5] In 1969, Sims further solidified her status with the October 17 cover of Life magazine, becoming the first Black model to achieve this distinction for the publication.^[1] These covers, amid the civil rights era's push for visibility, positioned Sims as a trailblazer, with designer Halston later crediting her in 1974 as "the first" Black model to break social barriers in the industry.^[5]

Professional Peak and Key Campaigns

Sims attained the zenith of her modeling career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, commanding $1,000 weekly earnings shortly after her breakthrough and dominating high-fashion bookings.^[3] She received Model of the Year accolades from International Mannequins in 1969 and 1970, affirming her status amid an industry historically resistant to black representation.^[17] Her visibility extended to editorial spreads in Vogue and Life, where she modeled alongside emerging designers, capitalizing on the era's shifting aesthetics toward inclusivity.^[18] A pivotal campaign was her 1967 selection for AT&T's national television advertisement, featuring Sims in Bill Blass designs with white and Asian models to showcase telecommunications diversity.^[12] This exposure, broadcast widely, marked one of the first mainstream integrations of black models in U.S. advertising and propelled her bookings.^[3] In November 1968, Sims became the first black model to grace the cover of Ladies' Home Journal, photographed by Neal Barr, symbolizing a commercial milestone amid the "Black is Beautiful" movement.^[19] She followed with the Life magazine cover in 1969, further embedding her image in American households.^[20] By the early 1970s, Sims anchored print campaigns for Virginia Slims cigarettes, embodying empowerment themes in ads that targeted women and leveraged her poised, elongated silhouette.^[21] These endorsements, alongside runway work for labels like Fendi, underscored her versatility but also highlighted persistent racial barriers, as she navigated agencies reluctant to book black talent without proven sales uplift.^[21] Her peak output—over 100 covers and campaigns—challenged exclusionary norms, though industry data from the period shows black models comprised under 1% of major bookings until the 1980s.^[22]

Retirement from Modeling

Sims retired from modeling in 1973, at the age of 25, after a career spanning approximately six years that included landmark covers for Ladies' Home Journal (November 1968) and Life magazine (1969), as well as campaigns for brands such as Fendi and Bill Blass.^[23]^[1] Her decision marked the end of an era in which she had become one of the first Black supermodels, breaking barriers in an industry previously dominated by white faces, though she later expressed reservations about offers like the lead role in the 1973 film Cleopatra Jones, which she declined due to its portrayal of Black women.^[23] The retirement allowed Sims to pivot toward business ownership, leveraging her experiences with hair and beauty challenges in modeling—where stylists often lacked expertise in working with Black hair textures—to develop products tailored for Black consumers.^[4] By exiting the runway at her professional peak, she avoided the transient nature of modeling careers, which she reportedly viewed as difficult to sustain long-term, and instead focused on entrepreneurial independence.^[1] This transition underscored her strategic foresight, as her subsequent wig line achieved multimillion-dollar success within years.^[13]

Entrepreneurial Ventures

Launch of Beauty Products

In 1985, Naomi Sims founded Naomi Sims Beauty Products Ltd., a cosmetics line specifically designed for Black women to address the inadequacies of mainstream beauty products, which often failed to match darker skin tones and hair textures.^[23]^[4] As a former model, Sims had frequently performed her own makeup during shoots due to the lack of suitable shades and formulas available from major brands, motivating her to create inclusive alternatives with a focus on empirical fit for diverse complexions.^[19] The venture was financially supported by Wagman & Co. and expanded on her earlier wig collection by incorporating skincare and color cosmetics tailored for women of color.^[4] The product range emphasized practical innovation, including foundations and powders developed to provide accurate coverage without ashy undertones, drawing from Sims' firsthand experience in an industry where Black models were underserved.^[24] By 1989, the company had achieved annual gross revenues of $5 million, reflecting strong market demand among Black consumers for specialized beauty solutions at a time when such lines remained scarce.^[23] This launch preceded broader industry shifts toward diversity, predating inclusive brands like Fenty Beauty by decades, and underscored Sims' causal insight into unmet needs driven by physiological differences rather than prevailing marketing narratives.^[4]

Business Expansion and Financial Success

In 1973, Sims retired from modeling to launch the Naomi Sims Collection, a wig line designed specifically for Black women using straightened hair textures and produced by Metropa Wigs, which was distributed in approximately 700 stores nationwide.^[25] The venture achieved rapid financial success, generating $5 million in sales during its first year.^[17] By 1979, the wig business had sustained multimillion-dollar annual revenues, establishing Sims as a prominent entrepreneur in the beauty industry targeting underserved Black consumers.^[9] Sims expanded the Naomi Sims Collection beyond wigs into a comprehensive beauty empire, introducing cosmetics in 1986, followed by skincare products, fragrances, and beauty salons.^[26] ^[4] This diversification capitalized on the growing demand for specialized beauty products, with the overall brand reaching multimillion-dollar status through targeted marketing and product innovation, such as synthetic fibers suited to Black hair needs.^[1] By 1989, the Naomi Sims Beauty line was grossing $5 million annually, reflecting sustained profitability amid competition in the Black cosmetics market.^[21] As CEO, Sims oversaw operations that emphasized quality and accessibility, contributing to the brand's reputation for filling market gaps ignored by mainstream companies.^[17] The business's financial achievements underscored her shift from modeling to entrepreneurship, yielding long-term wealth independent of fashion industry fluctuations.^[4] Sims authored several books published primarily by Doubleday, focusing on practical guidance for Black women in areas such as beauty, health, modeling, and professional success, drawing from her personal experiences in fashion and business.^[6]^[13] Her first book, All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, was published in 1976 and offered advice on skincare, makeup, hairstyling, exercise, and nutrition tailored to Black women's needs, with a revised and expanded edition released in 1986.^[8]^[13]^[27] In 1979, she published How to Be a Top Model, which provided step-by-step instructions on entering the modeling industry, including portfolio development, agency selection, and on-set professionalism, based on her own career trajectory.^[8]^[13] Subsequent works included All About Hair Care for the Black Woman, addressing techniques for maintaining natural and processed hair textures, and All About Success for the Black Woman in 1982, which covered career strategies, financial management, and personal development for professional advancement.^[28]^[29]^[13] These publications, totaling at least four major titles, emphasized self-reliance and empirical self-improvement over abstract ideals, reflecting Sims's firsthand observations of industry barriers and opportunities for Black women.^[1]^[30]

Personal Life

Relationships and Marriage

Naomi Sims married Michael Alistair Findlay, a Scottish-born art dealer and owner of a Manhattan gallery, on August 5, 1973, at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City.^[31] The interracial union attracted public attention amid the era's social dynamics, though Sims maintained a low profile on her private life thereafter.^[32] The couple had one son, Bob, born during the marriage.^[33] They divorced in 1991 after 18 years together.^[33] No other significant relationships are documented in Sims's biography.^[34]

Family and Son

Sims married Michael Findlay, a Manhattan art dealer, in 1973.^[5] The couple had one son, Bob Findlay.^[5] ^[19] Their marriage ended in divorce in 1991.^[5] Bob Findlay, who lived in Seattle at the time of his mother's death, maintained a close relationship with Sims in her later years, assisting with her health care needs.^[35] Sims was also survived by a granddaughter through her son.^[19] Her immediate family included her elder sister, Betty Sims, who resided in Manhattan; another sister, Doris, predeceased her in 2008.^[19]

Later Years and Death

Health Challenges

In the mid-2000s, Naomi Sims was diagnosed with breast cancer, which became her primary health challenge in later life.^[36] ^[5] She underwent treatment for the disease while residing in Newark, New Jersey, though specific details of her medical regimen, such as chemotherapy or surgery, were not publicly disclosed by her family.^[1] The illness progressed over several years, marking a significant decline in her health during what had otherwise been a period of entrepreneurial focus and authorship.^[21] Sims managed her condition privately, consistent with her reputation for maintaining personal boundaries amid public scrutiny.^[37]

Death and Funeral

Naomi Sims died on August 1, 2009, at the age of 61 in Newark, New Jersey, from cancer, as confirmed by her son, Bob Findlay.^[5] Her funeral service was held on August 6, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, located at 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street in New York City.^[38] ^[39] Sims was survived by her son, Bob Findlay; a grandson; and her elder sister, Betty Sims.^[40] The location of her burial remains unknown.^[41]

Legacy and Impact

Influence on Fashion Diversity

Naomi Sims significantly advanced racial diversity in fashion by becoming one of the earliest black supermodels during the late 1960s, a period when the industry was overwhelmingly dominated by white models. Despite facing repeated rejections from modeling agencies due to her skin tone being deemed "too dark," Sims secured bookings directly with designers such as Halston, Bill Blass, and Stephen Burrows, demonstrating the commercial viability of black models in high fashion.^[42]^[22] Her persistence challenged entrenched biases, paving the way for greater inclusion of black women on runways and in advertising campaigns. In November 1968, Sims achieved a milestone as the first black model to appear on the cover of Ladies' Home Journal, a mainstream publication targeting a broad American audience, which helped normalize black representation in consumer-facing media.^[43] This was followed in October 1969 by her feature as the first black model on the cover of Life magazine, further amplifying visibility and influencing editorial decisions toward diversity.^[20] Fashion historian Darnell-Jamal Lisa noted that Sims' career "opened the door for models of color in general [and] Black women of the entire spectrum," underscoring her role in broadening beauty standards beyond Eurocentric ideals.^[4] Sims' breakthroughs contributed to the broader "Black is Beautiful" movement, embodying a shift where black features were celebrated rather than marginalized in fashion narratives.^[43] Her success inspired subsequent generations of black models and pressured agencies and brands to diversify casting, though progress remained uneven; for instance, while she worked extensively in the U.S., European markets lagged until the 1970s.^[21] By retiring from modeling in 1973 after establishing her prominence, Sims left a legacy that facilitated incremental gains in industry representation, as evidenced by the increased presence of black models in major campaigns post-1960s.^[44]

Entrepreneurial Model for Black Women

In 1973, Naomi Sims transitioned from modeling to entrepreneurship by launching the Naomi Sims Collection, a wig manufacturing business specifically designed to address the needs of Black women, drawing from her own experiences with inadequate hair solutions in the fashion industry.^[45]^[17] The line emphasized "realistic" wigs tailored to Black hair textures and styles, filling a market gap where Black women comprised an estimated 40% of wig purchasers but faced limited options suited to their features.^[32] By 1985, Sims expanded into Naomi Sims Beauty Products Ltd., incorporating cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare lines formulated for diverse Black skin tones and hair types, achieving annual gross revenues of $5 million by 1989.^[21] This self-funded venture demonstrated a model of economic independence, as Sims bypassed reliance on mainstream beauty conglomerates by directly targeting underserved consumers through catalog sales and specialized distribution, ultimately building a multimillion-dollar enterprise.^[4] Sims' approach served as a blueprint for Black women entrepreneurs by prioritizing niche market innovation over assimilation into white-dominated industries, crediting her success to the purchasing power and loyalty of Black consumers while advocating for product quality over token representation.^[11] Her emphasis on practical, culturally attuned solutions—such as wigs that mimicked natural Black hairstyles—inspired subsequent Black-owned beauty brands to capitalize on demographic demands rather than awaiting institutional inclusion, thereby fostering financial autonomy and sector-specific expertise.^[45]^[44]

Debates on Pioneering Status and Criticisms

While Naomi Sims is widely recognized as the first African American supermodel for achieving commercial success, high earnings—up to $1,000 per day at her peak in the late 1960s—and mainstream magazine covers such as Ladies' Home Journal in November 1968, debates persist over her pioneering primacy due to earlier Black models' milestones.^[5] Donyale Luna, for instance, preceded Sims by gracing the cover of British Vogue in 1966 as the first Black woman to do so, alongside appearances in avant-garde editorials and films, though Luna's career emphasized eccentricity over sustained high-fashion bookings and faced industry marginalization.^[22] Earlier figures like Dorothea Towles, active in Paris during the 1950s, and Helen Williams, who modeled domestically in the 1940s–1950s, secured some bookings but lacked the visibility or financial scale that elevated Sims to supermodel status amid stricter U.S. racial barriers.^[22] Fashion designer Halston reinforced Sims' claim in a 1974 New York Times interview, declaring, "Naomi was the first," highlighting her role in normalizing Black features in commercial advertising.^[19] These discussions often hinge on definitional nuances: "supermodel" implies not just "firsts" in isolated feats but enduring influence, earnings, and agency in a white-dominated industry, where Sims navigated rejections for her dark skin tone before self-advocating via direct pitches to publications in 1967.^[10] Critics arguing for shared credit among Black models emphasize collective barrier-breaking over singular attribution, noting systemic exclusion limited any individual's dominance pre-1970s diversification.^[46] Criticisms of Sims personally include backlash from Black peers over her 1977 marriage to white Scottish art dealer Michael Findlay, perceived by some as undermining racial solidarity during heightened civil rights tensions, despite her advocacy for Black beauty standards.^[47] She also drew scrutiny for declining the lead in the 1968 film For Love of Ivy due to its stereotypical depiction of Black characters, a principled stand that some viewed as overly rigid amid scarce opportunities.^[5] Later, her reclusive tendencies and early retirement from modeling in the 1970s to pursue business ventures were occasionally framed as disengagement from ongoing industry fights for diversity, though these reflect her strategic foresight against modeling's ephemerality rather than abandonment.^[48]

References

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Naomi Sims dating history. Relationships: Naomi Sims was previously married to Michael Findlay (art expert) (1973 - 1991).
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