Janice Dickinson
She bulldozed the blonde, blue-eyed standard of 1970s fashion, declaring herself the world's first supermodel with defiant, dark-eyed glamour.
Born 1955 (age 71)·American model and television personality·Birthday: February 15·Baby Boomers
Biography
Janice Dickinson arrived not as a whisper but a scream. In the mid-1970s, with her sharp cheekbones, jet-black hair, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, she shattered the prevailing mold of the all-American girl. She graced the covers of Vogue and Elle countless times, working with photographers like Helmut Newton and becoming a muse for the era's most avant-garde designers. Dickinson didn't just model; she performed, injecting a raw, almost dangerous energy into every frame. Her later career saw her channel that same formidable personality into television, most famously as the brutally honest, often controversial judge on 'America's Next Top Model.' She further blurred the lines between modeling and reality TV with her own agency, documented for television. Through every incarnation, Dickinson remained a self-invented force, arguing fiercely for her place in history and forever changing the look and temperament of the modeling industry.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Janice was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Janice Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Janice's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Appeared on over 37 covers of Vogue magazine internationally during the peak of her modeling career.
- Pioneered a harder-edged, exotic look that expanded the definition of a top fashion model in the 1970s and 80s.
- Served as an original judge on 'America's Next Top Model' for its first four cycles, shaping the show's critical voice.
- Founded and ran The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, which was the subject of a reality television series.
Did You Know?
She claims to have coined the term 'supermodel' in the late 1970s.
Dickinson is a licensed private investigator in the state of California.
She published a memoir in 2002 titled 'No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel.'
“I invented the word supermodel. I came to New York and there were no supermodels. There were just models.”
