Beverly Johnson

Beverly Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, and businesswoman. She made history when she rose to fame as the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue in 1974 (August issue). A year later, she became the first black woman to appear on the cover of the French edition of Elle magazine. She is currently the star of the reality series Beverly's Full House on the Oprah Winfrey Network which focuses on her attempt to heal the flawed mother/daughter relationship with daughter, Anansa Sims, who is a plus size model. Johnson was honored in 2006 at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball along with Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Tina Turner and other female African Americans in entertainment, civil rights, and the arts. The New York Times named Johnson one of the 20th century's most influential people in fashion. Born into a middle class family in Buffalo, New York, Johnson was a champion swimmer in her youth and aspired to be a lawyer. She was studying criminal justice at Northeastern University when she tried her hand at modeling. She quickly landed an assignment with Glamour magazine and began working steadily.

Actor