BLAIR OF LIGHT: BILLIE BLAIR

Born in Flint, Michigan, long limbed Billie Blair was a "supermodel" before the term even existed. The statuesque beauty got her start modeling for Detroit auto shows before moving to New York and working as a showroom girl for designer extraordinaire Halston.  Soon after, the big leagues came calling and the highly sought after black beauty began posing in editorials for magazines like Ebony and Mademoiselle and walking the runways for big names including Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Calvin Klein and others in the seventies.

 Known for her gorgeous brown skin, large eyes and slicked back hairdo, Blair began commanding $400 a day, becoming the highest paid model of any color at the time! She was also one of the nine key models in the legendary 1973 Battle of Versailles fashion show in Paris, (along with Alva Chinn, Bethann Hardison and Pat Cleveland)  which actually helped to skyrocket her career.  Nowadays, she is far removed from the glam model life and is an ordained minister living in Deliverance, Ohio, but Billie Blair will always be remembered for her contribution to the fashion industry.