Long ago ( well..not soooo long ago depending on your age I guess) in the '80's my father was once a model with the Grace Del Marco agency. My parents were separated when I was a newborn. He died shortly after and I have no memories of him, just lots of lovely photos. I've also been a fan of America's Next Top Model for a while so those two things probably initaly sparked my interest in the modeling/fashion world. Photography is my favorite hobby and I even flirted with pursuing a degree in it ,but for now it just remains my favorite past time . I honestly wasnt a real fan of Janice Dickinson as a judge on Top Model ( she was so mean ! ) , BUT after recently hearing her longtime claim of being the world's first 'supermodel', I became a little more intrigued . Im currently halfway though her book ' No Lifeguard on Duty: The Acciental Life of the world's first Supermodel' and I have to say that while reading her memoir, I have been throughly edutained.
A few weeks ago I found out that she had written a book and read up a little on her at wikipedia.com. I also have recently been learning about other models of her time , like Gia Carangi ( the drug addicted lesbian who was one of the first American Women to die of the AIDS virus) , and had already decided that I wanted to purchase Gia's biography. After reading the short bio on Janice at wikipedia I decided that I wanted to purchase Janice's autobiography as well. I now have a new name to add to my list of favorite models...Tyra,Christy,Gia and ...Janice!
I now know why she calls herself the First supermodel. She actualy coined the term! She was a thinker and spoke out when it was still unpopular and even frowned upon to do so . I totaly believe her little joke to a collegue about ' not being 'superwoman' but a 'supermodel'. That quote sounds like quintessential Janice.
I now know why she calls herself the First supermodel. She actualy coined the term! She was a thinker and spoke out when it was still unpopular and even frowned upon to do so . I totaly believe her little joke to a collegue about ' not being 'superwoman' but a 'supermodel'. That quote sounds like quintessential Janice.
Lastly, It was so sad to read about all the unfortunate pain and heatbreak she had to endure at such a young age. Im going to try not to spoil too much here with exerpts from her book or anything but she did survive living with a physicaly and sexualy abusive monster of a 'father' durign her teen years and that is something she has publicly spoken out on many times .What courage and self confidence one must have to overcome such an ordeal..and on a continual basis.But its wonderful to see that she overcame the obstacles and is still here. Unlike a few other modeils,Gia Carangi for instance, Janice overcame the numerous obstacles in her life before,during and after her rise to the top of the fashion world.Looking at pictures from the height of her modeling career I can now see why she was so succesful. She was absolutly stunning ....her look was simultaneously modern and classic. And she also posesed an unflinching natural beauty. She knew how to model from the crown of her head to the tip of her toes.The pics of her with little or no makeup look just as beautiful to me , if not more, than the ones with all the excessivly outrageous 70's, and '80's 'glam'.
Some of the things she says and does continue to raise eyebrows and spark controversy, but i'm more a fan of her as a person, and thankful that she has been graciously honest and raw about having a less than perfect upbringing. Espeicaly in aan industry where many people feel its esier to put up a facade and attempt to fake perfection. She embraces her flaws, espeicaly now that she has overcome the bulk of them, and knows they made her the person she is today..the good and the bad.Her motto is that life experiences that dont kill you make you stronger and that you should use them, and not let them use you. And I hafta say I'm in total agreement with her philosophy there. She knows that her story can help inspire and heal others who have gone though similar. She constantly heard from her father that she would never amount to anything and boy did she ever prove him wrong.
I was pleased to see that the majority of the reveiws , from readers and critics alike , for her book on amazon.com were positive . She shares opinions not only about her personal career but offers well researched in depth insight on issues such a the so called ' model -wars', back stabbing and back biting in the earlier days of the current big-wigs of fashion and modeling agencies, and the lavish lush ( and at times dirty and grimey) clubs and nightlife of that era . She also decided that she enjoyed the photogrpahy aspect of her career so much, that she wanted to get out there and learn the photogtaphy aspect as well. This earned her huge amounts of respect from those she worked with, though it didnt always fare with with who she may have been datign at the time ( liek say, oh a photographer perhaps dealign with issies of insecuirty he himself needs to come to grips with) Though she had a few good freinds and phogographjy mentors, a lot of her skills were self taught. And her shoots, well they speak for themselvs.But no more, i'm already giving away too much !
Im really psyched to finish reading her book and think it will make an excellent companion to Gia's autobiography. I would also advise any young girls considering a career in the fashion, modeling, photography or entertainment field to read both of their stories as well .
ciao
xoxo
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