Donyale Luna, The First Black Model To Cover Vogue UK (PHOTO)

Donyale Luna is an iconic African-American model who helped usher in the acceptance and celebration of black beauty in the world of fashion.

While Beverly Johnson is celebrated as the first black model to grace the cover of American Vogue, just eight years earlier in March 1966 Luna was featured on the cover of the publication's British edition--thus making her the first black woman to appear on the cover of any Vogue magazine, period.

The iconic cover image shows Luna covering most of her face, which was allegedly a request of the magazine's editors to help mask her ethnicity.

A 1966 Life magazine article titled "The Luna Year" described the stunning model as:

"A new heavenly body who, because of her striking singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season. Donyale Luna, as she calls herself, is unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment. She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed if one reads Harper's Bazaar, Paris Match, Britain's Queen, the British, French or American editions of Vogue."

The Detroit native was indeed featured in the world's top fashion magazines and even worked under contract with the legendary fashion photographer Richard Avedon.

Luna also tried her hand at acting and appeared in several films including Andy Warhol's "Camp" and Federico Fellini's "Satyricon." And you know you've really made it big when a mannequin is made in your likeness.

Sadly, Luna's illustrious career was cut short when she passed away due to a heroin overdose in 1979. However, her trailblazing beauty has not been forgotten.

VOGUE UK, March 1966

Comments

[ltphilpott]

10:56 AM on 02/23/2012

They made her cover her nose and mouth, wonder why?

[PunniSeed Plant]

03:47 PM on 02/19/2012

THE BLACK, THE BEAUTIFUL.

[Garcia Gomez]

07:57 PM on 02/03/2012

never, ever heard of her. i guess i can blame her heroin usage 4 that

[kokobin]

01:42 AM on 02/03/2012

A light skinned woman with clear Caucasian ancestry more tolerant to the British at that time.

[FiredUpRTG]

02:53 PM on 02/02/2012

Had to cover half her face? Reminded of what they said about the black male character Geordi in Star Trek Next Gen (and Worf, too; can't tell what either really looked like). And the rumor of why the sphinx' nose was cut off by Napoleon…

[Befree16195]

07:11 AM on 02/02/2012

When pressed about her African American identity and influence, Luna bristled. When interviewed about her groundbreaking roles in popular films, including the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, Fellini’s Satyricon, and Andy Warhol’s Camp, and asked about the fact that she was breaking down doors for her sisters to follow, Luna retorted, “If it brings about more jobs for Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes, groovy. It could be good, it could be bad. I couldn’t care less.“

[Sunflo]

03:43 AM on 02/02/2012

Somebody ought to turn her life story into a movie. She was so interesting.

[Sparky5229]

07:23 PM on 02/01/2012

VERY BEAUTIFUL

[Kermit Blackwood]

06:40 PM on 02/01/2012

You know who never gets her due? A real trailblazing beauty as well as an intellect and artist? Wanakee Pugh. She is truly unforgettable and vogue was often graced with her one in a million face/body/hair...wow

[Kermit Blackwood]

07:01 PM on 02/01/2012

Your hands call you Satan when you force them to put food in your mouth.

[azOutlawz44]

07:16 PM on 02/01/2012

nope..it's a mutual agreement between my hands and mouth..as long as the food is good..Now when i was a kid..oh yeah..thats when i was forced to eat food i now like but didn't then....ok besides all that..what the heck are you talking about ?

[Spagirl65]

07:35 PM on 02/01/2012

Is the padding on your walls soft enough? It kinda sounds like you need a little extra. I think the daily head bumping you're doing is knocking something loose.

[azOutlawz44]

07:56 PM on 02/01/2012

so in otherwods your saying you had no clue to why she covers the eye huh ?? lol..it's ok to be stupid,just don't stay stuck on stupid..google Einstein and learn so you don't look so silly..good luck you little stinker

[booksnstuff]

06:19 PM on 02/01/2012

She was absolutely stunning. Stunning, absolutely.

http://myinstyleclub.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/donyaleluna.jpg

http://smoda.elpais.com/articulos/las-bellas-malditas-de-la-moda/665

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo7lhkKlx91qa1iiqo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1328224213&Signature=gkQhq%2FeVhisEy8BRJj9PD9OQ7tU%3D

[Better B Good 2me]

06:02 PM on 02/01/2012

Even in this photo, she is made to look "exotic", closer to Indian. Anything but black huh?? lol.

[Kermit Blackwood]

06:43 PM on 02/01/2012

American Black people are astonishingly beautiful because of their unique combination of West African, American Indian and European. She's certainly not white and people from India are also referred to as blacks. Time to expand that paradigm and get that bigot out of the mirror.

[Better B Good 2me]

07:16 PM on 02/01/2012

You are out to lunch. No bigots here.

[justlisen2b101]

05:30 PM on 02/01/2012

This woman was the "EPITOME" of self hate.

[Imhotep40]

11:04 PM on 02/01/2012

Why would you say such a thing? Her motivation to model, to brand a look and promote herself in a Euro-centric paradigm of fashion . . . is her walk (not yours or for anyone else to define)

[justlisen2b101]

12:15 AM on 02/02/2012

WHAT EVER... She sold her soul to the devil. I cant believe she agreed to cover her natural features for that racist magazine, not suprise to here she ended up becoming a drug addict. im sure her overdose was actually a suicide

[Mulebone]

03:54 PM on 02/01/2012

Are we still doing that "first Black" thingie?

It's sounds so 1950s.

[Sunflo]

01:36 AM on 02/02/2012

FYI, if you care to know, it's Black History Month.

[Fortune27]

03:06 PM on 02/01/2012

I recall learning of Donyale Luna years ago and have always been fascinated by her. It wonderful to see her center stage again, if not for an always appreciated cautionary tale. Beauty does not always bring happiness and for as exciting as the fashion world can be, it can takes its toll if one is not focused on self preservation. Unfortunately, in her time there was not the awareness that those entering the industry can benefit from today.

Princess Elizabeth of Toro from Uganda was another extraordinary beauty that graced the pages of fashion magazines around that time: http://www.ciaovogue.com/2010/09/june-1969-us-vogue.html

[Sunflo]

01:35 AM on 02/02/2012

Agreed. Princess Elizabeth of Toro was also the first black woman on the cover of Harper's Bazaar:
http://fashionbombdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/harpers-bazaar-november-1969.jpeg

How's that for history eh?