Who is Donyale Luna, the First Black Supermodel?

Before there was Beverly Johnson, there was Donyale Luna.

Her name not ringing a bell? A shame, but not a surprise. Even among self-titled "fashion girls" her name draws a blank. In their defense though, unless you're Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, or Kate Moss, most (both in and outside the fashion world) aren't that well-versed on the supermodels of the past. 

But unknown is not synonymous with not worth knowing — at least, that's certainly the case with Luna's legacy. To put it simply, if it wasn't for her, the doors that allowed our favorites — like Campbell, Banks, Johnson, Karen Alexander, and even today's Black models like Anok Yai, Adut Akech, and Winnie Harlow — to enter the modeling world would have never been open to begin with.

While there's no going back in time to fix the mass overlooking of Luna's legacy, there is still time to bridge the knowledge gap for future fashion connoisseurs — a venture HBO Max has already taken on with their new documentary centered around the model trailblazer. For those who have yet to watch the documentary or are coming up blank looking at Luna's name though, this then leaves the question: Who is Donyale Luna?

Luna — whose real name was Peggy Ann Freeman — was born in 1945 in Detroit. With an over six foot tall height, leggy limbs, and stunning features, she would start he modeling journey at 18 years old. She was scouted by a fashion photographer David McCabe in 1963 who convinced her to eventually relocate to New York City less than a year later. Taking the risk, Luna's career took off nearly immediately.

In January 1965, she was the first Black model to appear on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in the form of an illustration, granted the drawing was extremely racially ambiguous as not receive immense backlash from sponsors and subscribers for fronting a Black woman. While her modeling was supreme, not even Luna could escape the racial discrimination in America, even more so amidst the ongoing Civil Rights Movement.

She would shortly jet off to Europe where she would spend most of her career. In March 1966 she continued breaking barriers, becoming the first Black model on the cover of British Vogue.

Even across the pond though, European countries also faced racial turmoil, and part of how Luna navigated it was putting on a different persona. Branding herself as exotic and racially ambiguous, she performed as an ethereal creature: a beguiling accent, fluid movement, intentional mystique, wearing blue eye contacts atop her natural brown hue — all choices she made to make her as palatable as possible.

Late fashion photographer Bill Cunningham once expressed about Luna, "Her body moves like a panther, her arms, the wings of an exotic bird…The audience responds with shattering applause - for the model’s performance rather than the designer’s clothes. It is the birth of a new fashion era - that of the spectacular show that rivals any on Broadway."

Her life was an intriguing web and flow. On one end there was the glamor of it all, such as her inner social circle, posing for famed fashion photographers including Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and David Bailey, and her life jetting across London, Paris, and Rome. Luna would eventually also catch the eyes of the elite art world, appearing in films shot by Andy Warhol and Federico Fellini and becoming one of Salvador Dali's muses.

On the other end, there were the unacknowledged racial obstacles she faced, from being turned away from castings to receiving hate from the leadership of legacy publications (and not receiving support from the very editors who put her in the magazine to begin with).