29 Black Supermodels Who Have Made a Huge Impact on the Fashion Industry

A supermodel with one of the most prolific fashion careers, Naomi’s first experience in the limelight was actually at 7 years old when she was in the Bob Marley music video for “Is This Love?” She's an activist, philanthropist, and a whole BOSS—everyone knows it. The queen of the runway is a reference point for models and creatives looking to make it in the industry.

Tyra Mail! Before she was the iconic America’s Next Top Model judge (and host of Dancing With the Stars, lol), she was a supermodel herself as she walked in shows from Christian Lacroix to Victoria’s Secret. She was the first Black model to sign a contract with the latter brand and was an Angel from 1997 to 2005.

The English model has modeled in campaigns for Fenty and Pat McGrath and walked in shows for designers like Tom Ford, Moschino, Marc Jacobs, and Victoria’s Secret. She also has her own blog and fashion brand called LAPP, for Leomie Anderson the Project the Purpose, where articles are published from a diverse community of writers about style, politics, and more.

A semifinalist in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she was the first contestant to participate wearing a hijab. Since her participation, she received widespread attention and was signed to IMG models. She also become the first Muslim model to wear the head covering and a burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Although she is mixed-race, the model has said she feels “more connected to Black culture and the Black experience,” in an interview with Allure. Her mom is Black and her dad is both Chilean and Swiss. Notably, she appeared on the cover of Vogue Arabia alongside Ashley Graham and is a runway expert (seen here at Alexander McQueen).

“I grew up in a household where my father was Black and my mother was Puerto Rican,” she said in an interview. “Those are my roots.” Pictured here at the Etro show, she’s a pro on the runways, and she recently pledged half of her 2020 wages to support Black Lives Matter organizations.

She was the first Black model to wear her natural hair down the Victoria’s Secret runway in 2015. (Took them long enough!) The Angolan model also inked a deal with L’Oréal Paris to become its new face in 2017, and she continues to kill it on the catwalk, seen here walking at a Christian Siriano show.

The French fashion model was the first Black model to walk exclusively for Calvin Klein, according to an interview with Into the Gloss, and she’s walked impressive shows like Elie Saab, Chanel, Givenchy, and more.

The Somali model was a muse for so many designers: Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Halston, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan—need I continue? She is also a philanthropist and has fundraised for important causes like AIDS research, helping refugees, and other humanitarian efforts.

She was the first Black woman to grace the cover of Vogue in 1974 and has been outspoken about the lack of diversity in various op-eds.

One of the fashion world’s hottest newcomers, Elibeidy Dani Martinez is taking the runway by storm. She is only 24 but has already walked shows for Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Brandon Maxwell, Saint Laurent, Prada, Valentino, and more. Talk about hitting the floor (er, catwalk) running.

Not just an iconic model, Grace Jones does it all: She’s a singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. She knows how to turn a runway walk into a straight-up performance. Her dances and moves bring so much energy to the crowd, which was apparent at the 2019 Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya show.

Pat Cleveland was a trailblazer in the fashion industry in the ’60s and ’70s and continues to be today. Last year—at 68 years old!—she walked in the Hellessy show, pictured here in this amazing red getup.

Naomi Sims was the first Black model to appear on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1968 as well as the 1969 issue of Life, and her career took off afterward. She also started her own wig and hairpiece business, which then expanded into cosmetics and skincare before she passed away from cancer in August 2009.

Beverly Peele has modeled for countless magazines, including Mademoiselle, Elle, Vogue, and yours truly, Cosmopolitan.

Alek Wek was the first Black model on the cover of Elle in 1997 and won the MTV Model of the Year award that same year. Born in South Sudan, she fled to Britain to escape civil war and has since walked high-profile runways like this Lanvin show. But she is vocal about discrimination and diversity in the modeling industry and has also done a TED Talk about her experience growing up in Sudan.

A muse of Yves Saint Laurent’s in the 1970s and ’80s, she was the first Black model he booked in his haute couture shows. Throughout her modeling career, she almost exclusively worked with Saint Laurent.

Gail O’Neill was a prominent model during the 1980s and ’90s, during which she modeled for glossies like Sports Illustrated and Vogue and also companies like Nordstrom and J.Crew. Since her modeling days, she’s focused on her journalism career and worked for CNN, HGTV, and CBS.

Ajok Madel is new to the modeling world but has already made a name for herself by booking runway shows for Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, and Dries van Noten. She is South Sudanese but grew up in Australia.

Winnie Harlow was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model back in 2014, and although she didn’t win that cycle, her modeling career has exploded. In her audition, she said she was bullied in school for her vitiligo, but she has been at the forefront of changing the beauty standards of the modeling industry.