DONYALE LUNA:

Donyale Luna (pictured above) was born in Detroit, Michigan on Jan. 1st 1946.   Luna would go on to become the first black supermodel.

Luna made history when she became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine, in 1966.

She went overseas to model and became an international superstar in fashion circles.   She was beautiful, classy, elegant and tall with penetrating green/blue eyes.  The photo above, doesn't do her beauty justice.

She became so popular in France.  Four French boys would camp outside of her apartment each night and follow her throughout the day.  When she wore a dress with a long train, the boys would walk behind her, carrying the train of her dress.

When she walked by outdoor cafes, conversations would cease because she was so beautiful.

Josephine Baker heard about her and requested a meeting.  Afterwards, Baker stated, she is the most beautiful and elegant woman I have ever met, black or white.

Italian directors approached Luna, she appeared in several overseas films.  The movies became cult classics and her fan base increased.

Sadly, Donyale Luna died in 1979 of an accidental pill overdose in Rome; she was 33 years old.  The fashion world was stunned and her roommate, model Pat Cleveland was devastated.

Model Pat Cleveland (left). Second photo, Sterling St. Jacques with Bianca Jagger @ Studio 54

PAT CLEVELAND:

Contrary to popular belief, Naomi Campbell is not the runway queen.  That title belongs to Pat Cleveland who became the best runway model in fashion history.

Affectionately called Cleveland. Pat Cleveland (pictured above to the left) would dominate the runway like no other model.  Legendary performer Josephine Baker made it well known, she wanted Cleveland to portray her in a film, if her life story was ever adapted for a movie because Cleveland bore a resemblance to a younger Baker.

The things that Cleveland did on the runway; have yet to be duplicated.  She had a partner, male model and dance partner, Sterling St. Jacques, pictured above, (son of late actor Raymond St. Jacques), they walked the runway like two graceful black panthers and they were known to break into a Tango.

The crowd would stand on their feet in anticipation when they came on stage and they didn?t disappoint.  At one event, St. Jacques came out carrying Cleveland on his shoulders.  They were also dance partners on Soul Train.

Pat Cleveland is currently signed with the Legends division of the Ford Modeling Agency.

When she isn't working on the modeling circuit, she relaxes at her Chateau in the Swiss Alps.

She loves to vacation in Monte Carlo, eating smoked barracuda on private yachts.  

When she attends Fashion Week in New York, she has reserved ringside seats and she's treated like royalty.

Sterling St. Jacques died of AIDS in 1984.