From Pittsburgh to Paris: Women’s History Month Spotlight of Icon and Legend Naomi Sims

Pictured: Naomi Sims in 1983
Photographer: Michael Oaks

     Do you know which iconic black model took her talents from Pittsburgh to the runways of Paris? Her name is Naomi Ruth Sims and she was born March 30, 1948, in Oxford, Mississippi. When Naomi was young, her mother, Elizabeth Sims, relocated the family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Elizabeth became ill shortly after, and her children went into foster care, Naomi included. A 5’10 dark-skinned girl in foster care, Naomi was relentlessly bullied in high school, mostly for her looks. Between foster homes and bullying, Naomi jumped at the opportunity to leave Pittsburgh with a scholarship from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where she studied textiles.

     Naomi’s biggest break as a model came at the hands of another Dutch supermodel, Wilhelmina Cooper, who was developing her modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models. In 1968, through Wilhelmina’s support, Naomi became the first Black model of the agency in addition to gracing the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal, igniting the iconic movement known as “Black is Beautiful.” Other accomplishments of Naomi Sims include the launch of her wig line in 1973(which can still be purchased online today). She also authored numerous successful books. After battling breast cancer in her later years, she was laid to rest on August 1, 2009, in Newark NJ. 

Pictured: Naomi Sims in a purple suit in 1974
Photographer: Yale Joel

Pictured: Naomi Sims walking the streets of NYC on June 23, 1969
Photographer: Gosta Peterson

Pictured: Naomi Sims’s iconic photo for Life Magazine, circa 1969
Photographer: Yale Joel

Pictured: Naomi Sims and another model circa 1969
Photographer: William Helburn