According to The New York Times, Sims was born in 1948 in Oxford, Mississippi. She was the third of three daughters, and her parents divorced shortly after she was born. All she knew of her father, she told Ladies' Home Journal, was "that my mother told me he was an absolute bum." Her family moved to Pittsburgh, but when her mother became sick, Sims was placed in foster care. In 1966, she came to New York with a scholarship to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. Since she "towered" over her classmates, some encouraged her to try modeling — but, writes Eric Wilson, "every agency she approached turned her down, some telling her that her skin was too dark."

Sims decided to go directly to photographers instead, and landed the cover of the 1967 Fashions of The Times supplement. From there, her career took off, with the LHJ cover, the cover of a 1969 issue of Life and ad campaigns. The country was going through a "Black Is Beautiful" movement, and, according to former fashion model and model agency owner Bethann Hardison, who spoke with WWD: "She was that elegant, beautiful, classic, dark-skinned beauty that we really needed at that time. She came off of the civil rights movement and the theme of ‘Black is beautiful.' She really was the epitome of that and made it so true."

In the mid-1970s, Sims slowed down on modeling and started her own business. She developed wigs, fragrances and cosmetics targeted at African-American women. She wrote several books about modeling, health and beauty. But Naomi Sims will be remembered as a gorgeous and stylish woman who made a big difference in the world of modeling. As we search for diversity on today's magazine covers, we have to remember those who had the courage and persistence to be pioneers. As designer Halston told The New York Times in 1974:

"Naomi was the first… She was the great ambassador for all black people. She broke down all the social barriers."

Naomi Sims, 61, Pioneering Cover Girl, Is Dead [NY Times]
Naomi Sims, Model, Dies [WWD]

Joan Ganz Cooney, Director of Children's Television Workshop. New York, 1969.

Love this awesome woman's job, dress and corner office!

Son & widow of Medgar Evers attending his funeral after he was killed by civil rights opponents. 1963.

One of the many tragedies of the decade. Is it wrong to covet her hat?

An Egyptian state owned TV set manufacturing plant, where out of 600 employees nearly 1/2 are women. Cairo, 1963.

Amy Winehouse, is that you?

Sophia Loren about to kiss another woman (prob. sister). Rome, 1964.

Glamour, darling!

Fashion designer Emilio Pucci w. young women wearing his designs. Bahamas, 1968.

Original Pucci prints, in their original habitats.

Young Parisian women at a discotheque. Paris, 1963.

The hair. So chic.

Women taking a cosmetic course. East Berlin, Germany, 1967.

It is important to begin with a good, clean foundation.

London police women posing in new uniforms. 1967.

Fighting crime looks like so much fun!

One of the Bloomfield Hills society women who bowls in a league. 1962.

Of course one bowls in pearls. Don't be silly.

A comely women's bowling team. Dallas, Texas, 1960.

Don't you get the feeling these ladies were a "hoot," as they say?

Women admirers trying to touch John F. Kennedy during Presidential campaign. Texas, 1960.

People used to get excited about politics… We have come full circle.

Women wearing fancy eyeglasses worn at St. Luke's fashion show. Chicago, 1960.

Someone needs to have a party with a sparkly eyeglass theme, and quick!

Fashion model Donyale Luna wearing evening gown which is embellished w. shimmering sewn-on discs, while taking break from fashion show w. cigarette. Sydney, 1967.

Donyale Luna was the first black model to appear on British Vogue. She was fond of LSD and was one of the only black women to be part of Andy Warhol's studio. She died in Rome in 1979 of a drug overdose.

New York fashion 1969.

"No, I can't give you my phone number, because you remind me of my bedspread."

Singer Barbra Streisand (L) sitting with Marlene Dietrich (R) at fashion show. Paris, 1966.

Wow! That ensemble Barbra Streisand is wearing was totally recreated and on the cover of French Vogue!

"New Breed" - Fashion - Afro-Headdresses. 1968.

I don't know what it is, but I like it.

Fashion model Donyale Luna posing in see-through crocheted floor-length dress w. extreme cutout back, as other models strike posed in mod clothes behind her. Sydney, 1967.

More Donyale Luna. New obsession.

British fashion model Twiggy w. slumpy posture, at table in restaurant at Disneyland. 1967.

It's it odd that this woman would later become the nicest judge on America's Next Top Model?

Cover of LIFE magazine dated 10-17-1969 w. logo & photo of model Naomi Sims by Yale Joel w. legend "Black Models Take Center Stage."

Here's why it's so upsetting that mainstream fashion magazines these days tend to ignore models of color. It was not always so!

Children holding hands while crossing street, w. storefront in rear covered w. graffiti fr. '65 riots indicating black-ownership & support of violence. Watts, CA, 1965.

Almost 4,000 people were arrested in the Watts riots. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed and burned. Twenty-seven years later: the LA riots.

Actress Julie Christie. London, 1966.

Gah. Love.

LIFE cover, actress Mia Farrow. 1967.

Such an iconic image.

Actress Gina Lollobrigida feeding and petting a fawn. Toronto, 1960.

The deer is cute, but is anyone else distracted by her pointy, pointy bra?

Life photo archive [Google]

Earlier: The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1950s
The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1940s
The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1930s

"I'm not trying to be provocative," she says. "It's just that, like everything else we do in fashion, the idea started from watching the shows. It's got to the point where I can't tell one model from another, except for [Liya] Kebede (pictured), who started me thinking. In the early Nineties, we knew all the models' names, recognised even the less famous ones. Liya was reminding me of Iman. And then I was in New York for Super Tuesday, seeing what was happening in America." Because how is it that we can have a black man running for president when only 1% of models on Milan's runways are black?

As previously discussed in summits held by model mogul Bethann Hardison, things were not always so bad. Black models were part of the fashion industry's fabric for decades. Telegraph has a quote by Brigid Keenan, from her book The Women We Wanted to Look Like, written in 1977 (when Naomi Sims, Donyale Luna, and Beverly Johnson were ubiquitous): "Women like [Naomi] Sims prove that the battle for black beauty has been fought and won."

Perhaps, as they say, the battle was won, but not the war. Another summit is being held in Paris this week, and the lack of black models in couture shows is the issue, reports Breitbart. There's a blame game, of course: "I asked the modelling agency for black girls for our next show but there simply aren't any," says Mario Lefranc, of the Lefranc-Ferrant design duo. An assistant to Jean-Paul Gaultier says: "It's really very difficult at the moment. There are no black models on the market, the agencies have none." But the agencies probably don't have any because designers and magazines won't book them, correct? At least one person was extremely frank: Renee Dujac-Cassou, head of Paris's Crystal model agency says:

"Blue-eyed blondes have always been the dream type. It's as simple as that. A beautiful African woman is not the dream type, neither is a Tibetan or a Chinese princess. [The number of non-white models] will always be extremely limited."

And here we have the true problem: People think that people don't like diversity. Experts claim that "the market" demands a uniform, pale, Euro-centric look. (For the record: I love to shop, I love fashion, I love diversity. Raise your hand if you can say the same.)

But what about going "all-black"? Like Italian Vogue? Or the recent Dsquared men's show, which featured an (almost) all-black cast of male models? Over on Stereohyped, a post reads, "As much as it delights me to glimpse the gorgeous pics in Italian Vogue and peep the gorgeous men in the Dsquared show, collectively, these efforts at diversity seem to be more like a passing fad instead of something that will actually change the industry. Sort of 'Let’s do all black guys this time! It will be fabulous!' Having all-black magazine issues and all-black fashion shows isn’t going to solve any problems." Agreed. But. Having all-black issues and runway shows does call attention to the problem. Having all-black issues and runway shows also gets black models working. Having all-black issues and runway shows allows editors, designers, stylists and mere mortals to see that, indeed, beautiful people come in all colors. That being in style or high fashion is not merely the territory of fifteen year old Estonian children. If black people can model, so can Asians! And brown people! While there's a danger in having an all-black cast becoming a fad or a trend, anything that calls into question the recent and pervasive whiteout in the fashion industry can't be bad. Now if we could just get our hands on that July issue…

Naomi Campbell, Iman And Jourdan Dunn Grace Vogue Italia's All Black Issue [Telegraph]
Is Going The “All-Black” Route A Superficial Answer To Fashion’s Deeper Problems? [Stereohyped]
Prêt-à-rapporter: A Black And White Vision Of Modelling [Telegraph]
Vogue Italia, Thanks Cathy [Fashionista]
Conspicuous by Their Presence [NY Times]
Beautiful Is Beautiful (slideshow) [NY Times]
Discrimination On The Catwalks? [Breitbart]

Earlier: On The Runways Of Milan, Color Just Wasn't Considered Chic
Fashion Week Runways Were Almost A Total Whitewash
Vogue's Not Racist; Three Black Models Prove It!
Is Prada To Blame For the Lack Of Black Models?
Where Are All The Black Models? Let's Start By Asking Anna Wintour
We're Still Looking For Black Models
Most Ladymags Continuing To Experience Whiteout Conditions
Modeling Matriarch Continues To Demand Diversity On The Runways
Black Fashion Industry Insiders Ask: Where Are The Black Models?
Will Italian Vogue Break With Fashion Mag Tradition, Feature Black Models?
Italian 'Vogue' Shocks, Awes, Makes Civil War Sexy

[Image by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue via The New York Times.]