Naomi Sims first graced the pages of of the Ladies Home Journal in 1968 and broke barriers as the first black model. Sims was also featured on the covers of Life, Cosmopolitan and Essence.  

The former model died on Saturday from cancer.  Originally from Pittsburgh, she came to New York at the age of 18 and attended Fashion Institute of Technology. Shortly after arriving to New York she was discovered as a successful runway walker and modeled for many well known designers. Today, two photographs of Sims hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Model as Muse” exhibition.