Donyale Luna

DONYALE LUNA d1979. American model and actress who in 1966 became famous for being the first black model to appear on the front cover of Vogue. She also appeared in several underground films by Andy Warhol and had roles in Qui Etes-Vous, Polly Maggoo? (1966) and notably as Enotea in the 1969 Federico Fellini film Fellini Satyricon. After being discovered by the photographer David McCabe, she moved from Detroit to New York City to pursue a modeling career. In January 1965, a sketch of Luna appeared on the cover of Harpers Bazaar from which she became the first black model to appear on the cover of a Vogue magazine (the March 1966 British issue) shot by famous photographer David Bailey. An article in Time magazine published on April 1st 1966 ("The Luna Year") described her 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 ........". However by the 1970s, her modeling career was in steep decline due to her drug use, eccentric behavior and tendency to be difficult. A designer for whom Luna once worked said ; "She [Luna] took a lot of drugs and never paid her bills". Fellow model Beverly Johnson later said ; "[Luna] doesn't wear shoes winter or summer. Ask her where she's from—Mars? She went up and down the runways on her hands and knees. She didn't show up for bookings. She didn't have a hard time, she made it hard for herself ...." Luna appeared in a nude photo layout in the April 1975 issue of Playboy photographed by Luigi Cazzaniga. At the age of just 33, the drug-taking finally caught up with Donyale Luna. Estranged from her husband, she died in a Rome clinic in the early hours of 17th May 1979 of an accidental heroin overdose.