The Beauty and Trailblazing Spirit of Naomi Sims

Picture it, the fluorescent lights, beautiful breathtaking Gowns, perfectly postured runways and the applause of men and women. As you walk the runway, your mind races back to the time you only dreamed. This is one way that I would like to think that Naomi Sims recalled thoughts in her mind. Coined the First Supermodel, Naomi Sims paved the way for Beverly Johnson, Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell just to name a few.


Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Naomi was just predestined to leave an indelible imprint on society. Her father reportedly worked as a porter, but Sims' mother later described him as "an absolute bum" and her parents divorced shortly after she was born. Mrs. Sims later moved with her three daughters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Naomi was subsequently raised by a foster family. She attended Westinghouse High School and had various challenges that she faced.

There due to her height, she was ostracized by many of her classmates however, Naomi credited her upbringing as a Catholic for helping to get her through a difficult adolescence. At 5'10", with dark skin, Sims had not been considered particularly attractive as a teenager. "Black wasn't beautiful then," she said in Black Enterprise. "The darker your skin, the less good-looking you were considered; and I was too tall, and too skinny.

After graduating from Westinghouse, Naomi moved to New York City to live with her sister Betty, a flight attendant who later also became a model. Sims had won a small scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she studied merchandising and textile design.

At the same time, she earned another small scholarship to study psychology at New York University, where she took classes in the evenings. Despite the scholarships and her sister's help, Naomi soon realized that she needed a job, and a counselor at the Fashion Institute suggested that she try modeling.

Her early attempts to get modeling work through established agencies were frustrated by racial prejudice, with some agencies telling her that her skin was too dark. When Naomi approached modeling agencies in New York, she was told outright that there was no work for African-American models.

Alternatively, Sims told Mademoiselle that the agencies made "very insipid excuses--'too many of my type'--and there were no other black women and certainly not anybody of my type!"

Her first career breakthrough came after she decided to sidestep the agencies and go directly to fashion photographer Gosta Peterson, a photographer for The New York Times. Peterson agreed to photograph her for the cover of the paper's August 1967 fashion supplement and Naomi was over the moon.

Despite this breakthrough, Sims still found it difficult to get work, so she approached Wilhelmina Cooper, a former model who was starting her own agency, saying that she would send out copies of The Times supplement to advertising agencies. A deal was created that stated that by attaching Cooper's telephone number, Cooper's agency would get a commission if and when Naomi received any work.

Within a year Naomi was earning $1000 a week and people were asking who was Naomi Sims. The key breakthrough came when she was selected for a national television campaign for AT&T, and wearing clothes by designer Bill Blass. Sims told Ladies' Home Journal, "It helped me more than anything else because it showed my face. After it was aired, people wanted to find out about me and use me.

While still in her teens, Naomi became one of the first successful African American Models and achieved worldwide recognition from the late 1960’s throughout the early 1970’s. She also appeared on various prestigious and popular magazines.

Astonishingly, The New York Times wrote,"Naomi’s appearance as the first black model on the cover of Ladies Home Journal was an amazing and consummate moment of the Black Is Beautiful Movement." Life Magazine was the next great feat and Naomi relished the experience. On October 17, 1969, Naomi was featured on the cover and it further propelled her into Super Model status.

While Sims's skin color was newsworthy, her walk received just as much attention. According to the Kansas City Star, "Her walk became her hallmark. It wasn't like the glide or bounce of many models." Naomi's serpentine movements of the arms, torso, and legs were beautiful to watch and as subtly controlled as a dancer's. Famed Fashion Designer Halston exclaimed, “When she put on a garment, something just m-a-marvelous happened.”

By 1972, Hollywood took an interest in her as a potential actress and offered her the title role in the movie Cleopatra Jones. However, when Sims read the script, she was appalled by the racist portrayal of blacks in the movie and promptly turned it down.

Naturally, there were some who thought that turning down a starring role in a Big Budget movie was a horrible move but Sims had other plans. Seeing an untapped market that was just ripe for the picking, Naomi decided to go into the beauty business for herself. She exclaimed, “There is nothing sadder than an old, broke model, and there are many models that have nothing at the end of their career.”

In 1973, Naomi married Michael Alistair Findlay, a Scotsman who ran an art gallery in New York; the couple later had one son, Pip. The same year, Sims decided to give up modeling, though she was just 24 and potentially had a long career in front of her. "Modeling was never my ultimate goal," she was quoted as saying in African American Business Leaders. "I started to model to supplement my income to go to college. But the idea of starting my own business had always appealed to me, and I was fortunate that my first career led to my second."

The successful business, which included a successful wig collection, skin care products, and cosmetics specifically designed for black women excelled and exceeded Naomi’s expectations. “One of the things people notice about me is the quality of my skin," Sims told The New York Times. "We decided I was the best person to advertise my products." Black Enterprise's Alfred Edmond Jr. concurred, "Her look was clean, simple, and elegant and conveyed sophistication, class and power."

The business eventually expanded into a multimillion-dollar beauty empire and Naomi authored at least five books on modeling, health and beauty. They included, All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, How to Be a Top Model and All About Success for the Black Woman, as well as an advice column for teenage girls in Right On! Magazine.

While Sims's accomplishments as an entrepreneur are truly impressive, she had been criticized by some feminists, who accused her of making money from women's fears about their own attractiveness. "I am sure I have my share of black female critics and enemies," she was quoted as saying in African American Business Leaders. "It doesn't matter. I adore women and I know I am a woman's woman and I would be nowhere if it weren't for black women."

Sadly on August 1, 2009, Naomi Sims lost her battle with breast cancer at age 61. She is survived by her son, Robert Findlay, a granddaughter and her eldest sister, Betty Sims.

This world and society will be forever influenced by fashion,style and beauty simply because of Naomi Sims and her work will always reflect and shine thru in many models and starlets.

Naomi Sims AN ICON!!!!!!