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Lifestyle
Beverly Johnson reflects on the industry pressure and unhealthy lifestyle she once maintained to keep an extremely thin physique.
Before the era of body positivity and inclusivity, supermodels were held to a rigid standard of waif-like physical proportions, reinforcing unattainable beauty standards. In a recent interview with Page Six, Beverly Johnson, widely known as American Vogue’s first Black cover star, revealed how these industry expectations impacted her and many other models. In the 1970s and ’80s, the legendary model and actress recalled using cocaine for its appetite-suppressing effects as a means to stay skinny.
“Everyone used drugs back in the day, but that particular drug for models was used because we did not eat,” Johnson told Page Six. “…Every time you came to work, they would say, ‘Yes! Chisel to the bone, girl. Yes,’ like, congratulating you. Nobody really told you the truth.”
In normalizing the use of the drug at the time, Johnson says she and other models were “led to believe that cocaine was not addictive.” The appetite-suppressing illegal drug created unhealthy eating patterns for many in the industry, including Johnson.
“I remember eating two eggs and a bowl of brown rice a week,” she added, “I would be shaking in a cab, and I would say, ‘Pull over, because I have to get a bag of M&Ms.’”
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However, her mother’s concern ended up being the catalyst for change in Johnson’s eating habits. The supermodel explained that it took her mother forcing her in front of a three-way mirror for her to see the consequences of her lifestyle.
“It was the first time I saw my bones looking back at me,” she said. “It was a major wake-up call.”
Now 50 years into her sobriety journey, Johnson continues to pour back into the modeling industry as an advocate for equality and representation. When the veteran supermodel returned to the runway in 2022, she recalls receiving praise from younger generations of models.
“They were all like, ‘Oh, Ms. Johnson, we’re so happy you paved the way for us,’” she said, per People magazine. “I was almost in tears. They were so honest and genuine.”
Johnson shares more about her modeling career in the one-woman play “Beverly Johnson: in Vogue,” currently at the 59E59 Theaters in New York.
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