Hidden Figures: Donyale Luna (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Donyale Luna

Donyale Luna (August 31, 1945 – May 17, 1979) was an American model and actress. In 1966, Luna became the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue. She also appeared in several underground films by Andy Warhol, and had roles in various French and Italian films. Born Peggy Ann Freeman in Detroit, Michigan, she was the youngest of three daughters. Luna's sister later described her as being "a very weird child, even from birth, living in a wonderland, a dream” and that she would routinely create fantasies for herself. As a teen, she attended Cass Technical High School, where she studied journalism and was in the school choir. It was during this time that she began calling herself "Donyale". She was later described by friends and classmates as being "kind of a kook”. After being discovered by the photographer David McCabe, she moved from Detroit to New York City to pursue a modeling career, and in January 1965, a sketch of Luna appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. She became the first black model to appear on the cover of a Vogue magazine, the March 1966 British issue, shot by photographer David Bailey. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Luna also appeared in several films; many of which were produced by Andy Warhol. These included Screen Test: Donyale Luna (1964), in which critic Wayne Koestenbaum described Luna as "pure diva, presenting a delicious mobile excess of mannerism"; Camp (1965), and Donyale Luna (1967), a 33-minute color film in which the model starred as Snow White. Luna married the Italian photographer Luigi Cazzaniga during this period, and in 1977 they had a daughter, Dream. She found her creative homeland in Europe, becoming involved in adversarial art actions in Rome and Milan. She lived in Italy from 1969 until her death ten years later. ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: 'The First Black Supermodel, Whom History Forgot:' https://www.thecut.com/2013/07/first-black-supermodel-whom-history-forgot.html 'The hard-living black supermodel Donyale Luna made the 60s swing on her own fierce terms:' http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/22897/1/luna-space-model 'Black Beauty History - The Effortless Glam Of Donyale Luna:' https://www.essence.com/beauty/donyale-luna-black-history 'The tragic tale of Donyale Luna:' http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9658276/The-tragic-tale-of-Donyale-Luna.html 'Remembering Donyale Luna, world's first black supermodel:' https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/nation-now/2016/02/14/donyale-luna-worlds-first-black-supermodel/79102546/ 'On this day in Detroit history: Model Donyale Luna dies:' https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene/archives/2015/05/17/on-this-day-in-detroit-history-model-donyale-luna-dies Donyale Luna (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donyale_Luna#cite_note-telegraph-18