“Love is my law. Truth is my worship. Beauty and perfection is my life.”

Girlfriend of Brian Jones. Friend to Andy Warhol. Muse to Richard Avedon, David Bailey, and Salvador Dali. She walked for Paco Rabanne and jet-hopped from New York, London, Paris, and Rome. Mannequins were made in her likeness. Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Panorama, Queen, she was in them all. They scandalized her Playboy shoot and called her a kook. She was even the first Black woman on a Vogue cover!

But fashion history has forgotten her. The supermodel with an artist’s soul, her name is Donyale Luna. Donyale and her story are endlessly fascinating - and you can hear it all on the new Dolls Pod, available wherever you stream your podcasts 🌕

(Episode starts at 5:12)

Materials used in this episode:

“Donyale Luna: Supermodel” (dir. Naliah Jefferson, 2023)

Amira Castilla, “The Complex Life of Donyale Luna, The First Black Supermodel” The Root, 9/15/2023

Dream Cazzaniga, “Donyale Luna Changed The Face Of Fashion In The ’60s. Now, The Revolutionary Black Model Is Finally Getting Her Due” Vogue UK, 9/18/2023

Amira Dupuy, “'Donyale Luna: Supermodel' shines a light on the first Black model to grace cover of Vogue” Independent, 9/20/2023

Peter Sampson, “The Life and Legacy of Donyale Luna: The First Black Supermodel” Out On The Floor, 1/13/2025