‘Donyale Luna: Supermodel’ shines a light on the first Black model to grace cover of Vogue

By BEATRICE DUPUY
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — “Donyale Luna: Supermodel,” a documentary streaming on Max, offers insight into how the first Black model to grace the covers of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue went largely unknown for years after her death. Luna’s powerful story from a girl in Detroit to a high fashion model shows the limits placed on her as a Black model in the fashion industry in 1960s America. The documentary features revealing interviews from her model peers Beverly Johnson and Pat Cleveland, and Luna’s diaries are read by her daughter Dream Cazzaniga. The film from director Nailah Jefferson offers a poignant glimpse into Luna’s emotions at the time of her life as her career took off.