The most famous African models
Iman
Born: July 25, 1955 in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Career facts: Discovered in Nairobi, Kenya by photographer Peter Beard in 1975. Moved to the United States and received her first 'Vogue' gig in 1976.
Did you know? Iman is married to rock star David Bowie. They have been married since 1992. They live in Manhattan and London.
Quotes: Iman is my dream woman,
said Yves Saint Laurent.
Waris Dirie
Born: 1965 in Somalia.
Career facts: She was discovered by photographer Terence Donovan, who put her on the cover of the 1987 Pirelli calendar. She worked for a number of designers such as Chanel.
Did you know? Dirie fled Somalia at the age of thirteen because her father gave her in marriage to a 61-year-old man in exchange for five camels.
From 1997 to 2003 she was a United Nations Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation.
Quotes: In the West, everything is money-money, power, sucking, sucking away. It is never enough.
Alek Wek
Born: April 16, 1977 in Wau, Sudan.
Career facts: Alek was discovered at an outdoor market in Crystal Palace, London in 1995 by a scout for the Models 1 agency. Signed to Ford Models in 1996. Was MTV model of the year, 1997. Has been a runway model for most of the top designers, including Dior, Baby Phat, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, and Diane von Furstenberg.
Did you know? Alek has starred in music videos for Tina Turner and Janet Jackson.
Katoucha Niane
Born: December 30, 1960 in Conakry, Guinea. Died February 2, 2008 in Paris.
Career facts: Began modeling in France in the 1980s, first for Thierry Mugler, then Paco Rabanne, Christian Lacroix, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Did you know? Katoucha topped modeling to become an activist against female genital mutilation, forming the group (KPLCE), in English Katoucha for the battle against female circumcision.
Death: Katoucha lived in a houseboat on the River Seine in Paris. She fell in the river and died of accidental drowning in February, 2008.
Hawa Diawara
Born: May 12, 1984 in Mali.
Career facts: Based in New York, signed to Trump Model Management. Has worked for DKNY.
Did you know? As a muslim, Hawa has often found her assignments, such as swimsuit modeling, conflicting with her faith.
Quotes: It is against my religion to wear see-through. lingerie or swimwear.
Agbani Darego
Born: Born 1983 in Nigeria.
Career facts: In November 2001, she beat Miss Scotland and Miss Aruba in the final round to become the first black African Miss World. Is signed to Next Model Management.
Did you know? The BBC writes, Ms. Darego is the fourth African to win the Miss World contest, normally dominated by winners from Europe, the Americas and India. White South Africans won the pageant in 1958 and 1974, and an Arab Egyptian was victorious in 1954.
Kiara Kabukuru
Born: July 3, 1976 in Kampala, Uganda. Moved to the U.S.A.
Career facts: She was discovered by fashion photographer Bill Bodwell in a shopping mall in Los Angeles.
Did you know? Kiara is most well known for her long-running series of ads for Cover Girl cosmetics. She has worked for top designers such as Dior, Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Oscar de la Renta, Paco Rabanne, Ralph Lauren, and Rifat Ozbek.
Minki Visser
Born: February 26, 1984 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Career facts: She began modeling at 16 and is currently contracted to Max Models. Has appeared in the 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 swimsuit editions of South African 'Sports Illustrated'.
Did you know? Before marrying businessman Constant Visser in 2007, she was known as Minki van der Westhuizen.
Nude photos of Minki were leaked onto the internet in 2006. They were taken on her twenty-first birthday while she was getting ready for her birthday party.
Liya Kebede
Born: January 3, 1978 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Career facts: Kebede's big break came when Tom Ford offered her an exclusive contract for his Gucci fall/winter 2000 show. Kebede was a finalist in the Miss World supermodel contest. She was on the cover of the May 2002 edition of Paris 'Vogue' which dedicated the issue to her. Has appeared on the cover of American 'Vogue'.
Quote: How many of us realize that, in much of the world, the act of giving birth to a child is still the biggest killer of women of child-bearing age?
said Kebede in a speech honoring the United Nations.
Oluchi Onweagba
Born: August 1, 1982
Career facts: After moving to New York City, where she lives today, Onweagba has appeared on the covers of Italian Vogue, i-D, ELLE, Untold, and Surface.
she has also feautured in Nylon, Marie Claire, Allure, and national editions of Vogue around the world. She has been the face of campaigns for Gianfranco Ferre, Gap, Express, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor. She has worked for Victoria's Secret.
As a catwalk/runway model, she has worked for John Galliano, Christian Dior, Costume National, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani in London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris.
Did you know? In 2008, Oluchi launched a modeling agency in South Africa, OModel Africa, with offices in Johanesburg and recently in Cape Town.
Quotes: As a Nigerian and an African I have done so much in my career to represent everything African in Western countries. There is a diverse group of people in South Africa, be it black, white, Asian. What baffles me is them saying they can't put a black person on the cover of the South African edition of GQ.
By Giles Devos