Beverly Johnson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Raised in a middle-class family, she was a champion swimmer in her youth and nearly qualified for the 1968 Olympics in the 100-yard freestyle event. While in college, she began modeling during summer break in 1971, quickly landing an assignment with Glamour. She went on to appear on more than 500 magazine covers, including the August 1974 issue of Vogue, becoming the magazine's first African-American cover model for the US edition. Her appearance on the cover changed the beauty ideal in US fashion, and by 1975, every major American fashion designer had begun using African-American models. She appeared on the cover of Vogue again in June 1975 for their 'American Woman' issue and became a runway model for designer Halston. By 1977, she had appeared on about 25 magazine covers, including 14 for Glamour, and was the first Black woman to appear solo on the cover of Elle.

Reader's Guide

Beverly Johnson’s career fundamentally reshaped the fashion industry’s standards of beauty. Her August 1974 appearance on the cover of American *Vogue* marked the first time an African-American model had been featured on the U.S. edition, following Donyale Luna’s 1966 British *Vogue* cover. This milestone had an immediate and sweeping effect: by the following year, every major American fashion designer had begun employing Black models. Johnson’s influence extended beyond that single cover; she appeared on more than 500 magazine covers in total, including a second *Vogue* cover in June 1975 for the “American Woman” issue, and became the first Black woman to appear alone on the cover of *Elle*. She also worked as a runway model for designer Halston. In 2008, *The New York Times* recognized her as one of the 20th century’s most influential people in fashion. Beyond modeling, Johnson was a longtime hair and beauty influencer, authored two books on health and beauty, and acted in films such as *Ashanti* (1979), *The Meteor Man* (1993), and *Crossroads* (2002). She appeared as a guest on seven television series and served as a celebrity judge for two seasons on the reality competition *She’s Got the Look*, where she publicly disclosed her past struggles with anorexia and bulimia. Johnson also released a single album in 1979 on Buddah Records. In 2014, she accused Bill Cosby of drugging her in the 1980s, an incident that did not result in sexual assault; Cosby filed a defamation lawsuit that he dropped in February 2016. Her memoir, *The Face That Changed It All*, was published in 2015. In 2024, she debuted an off-Broadway one-woman show, *Beverly Johnson: In Vogue*, described as an intimate live biography of her experiences in fashion and entertainment.

Did You Know?

• Beverly Johnson was the first Black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue in August 1974.
• She was close to qualifying for the 1968 Olympics in the 100-yard freestyle event.
• In 2014, she accused Bill Cosby of drugging her in the 1980s; Cosby dropped his defamation lawsuit against her in February 2016.
• She was inducted as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on July 13, 2025.