Celebrity Deaths

Model Naomi Sims Passes Away at 61

American model Naomi Sims has passed away of cancer at the age of 61. As the first African American to be on the cover of Ladies Home Journal (LHJ), some consider to also be the first African American supermodel. Her modeling career spanned the late 1960s. She appeared on the cover of LHJ in 1968 and Life magazine in 1969. After retiring from her short modeling career, she launched what became a multi-million dollar wig-making company whose target market was African American women. She was also the author of several books.