Iman.

At age four, Iman started boarding school in Egypt, where she spent most of her childhood and adolescence. She was born in Mogadishu, Somalia on 25 July 1955 to a diplomat father and a gynecologist mother. She later studied at the University of Nairobi. Her father was a former Somali ambassador to Saudi Arabia. She has two brothers and two sisters.

Iman’s modeling career began in March 1975 when photographer Peter Beard spotted her walking down a street in Nairobi. He introduced her to agent Wilhelmina, who signed her sight unseen. She quickly rose to become a supermodel, appearing on runways and in magazines worldwide. She moved into acting, appearing in films such as No Way Out 1987, L.A. Story 1991, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 1991, where she played the shapeshifting Martia. In 1992, she appeared in Michael Jackson’s music video Remember the Time, becoming the first person to kiss him on-screen. She also founded Iman Cosmetics, a makeup line for women of color.

Iman was first married at age 18 to a Somali entrepreneur, but the marriage ended two years later when she moved to the United States. She married basketball player Spencer Haywood on 18 November 1977; they had a daughter, Zulekha Haywood born 5 July 1978, and divorced on 13 February 1987. She married musician David Bowie on 6 June 1992; they had a daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones born 15 August 2000. Bowie died on 10 January 2016. Iman is stepmother to Bowie’s son, filmmaker Duncan Jones. She lives in Manhattan and London.

Iman’s impact as a supermodel and entrepreneur continues. She broke barriers for African models and created Iman Cosmetics to address the lack of makeup for darker skin tones. Her acting roles, particularly in Star Trek VI, are part of pop culture history. She received the OkayAfrica 100 Women award and the Great Immigrants Award. She is remembered as a model who broke barriers, a businesswoman, and the wife of David Bowie, to whom she was married from 1992 until his death in 2016.