Janice Dickinson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Janice Dickinson
Dickinson in 2014
Born	(1955-02-16) February 16, 1955 (age 70) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Model television personality businesswoman
Years active	1969–present
Spouse(s)	Ron Levy ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1979)​ Simon Fields ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1993)​ Alan B. Gersten ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 1996)​ Rocky Gerner ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	2
Relatives	Debbie Dickinson (sister)
Modeling information
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Hair color	Dark brown
Eye color	Brown

Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 16, 1955) is an American model, TV personality, and businesswoman. She became famous as a model in the 1970s and 1980s. Janice Dickinson has sometimes said she was the first "supermodel." However, many people believe Lisa Fonssagrives was the first supermodel, starting her career in the 1930s.

Janice was a judge on the TV show America's Next Top Model from 2003 to 2006. In 2005, she started her own modeling agency. This agency was featured in a reality TV show called The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency from 2006 to 2008.

In 2007, Dickinson was a contestant on the British TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She finished in second place. In 2008, she starred in Janice & Abbey with British model Abbey Clancy. She also appeared on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2010 and Celebrity Big Brother 16 in 2015.

Dickinson has written three books about her life.

Early Life and Family

Janice Dickinson was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is the second daughter of Jennie Marie and Samuel Ray Dickinson. Her mother had Polish family roots, and her father had Irish family roots.

She grew up in Hollywood, Florida. She has an older sister named Alexis and a younger sister named Debbie. Debbie also became a model.

Janice Dickinson's Modeling Career

In the early 1970s, Janice moved to New York City to become a model. She had won a national competition called "Miss High Fashion Model." At that time, most successful models had blonde hair and blue eyes. Janice was often turned down by modeling agents. One agent, Eileen Ford, told her she was "too ethnic" and would "never work."

However, a fashion photographer named Jacques Silberstein discovered her. His girlfriend, actress Lorraine Bracco, liked Janice's unique look. Wilhelmina Cooper became Janice's first agent. Janice then moved to Paris, France. Her "exotic looks" helped her become well-known in the European fashion world.

She came back to New York City in 1978. For several years, she worked steadily and earned a lot of money. She made $2,000 a day, which was much more than most models at the time. Dickinson later signed with Ford Models for a big ad campaign for a new JVC camera.

By the 1980s, Janice Dickinson was seen as a supermodel. She was famous and easily recognized, which is what many models hope to achieve. She appeared in and on the covers of many magazines. These included Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Photo, Vogue, and Marie Claire. She worked with famous fashion designers like Bill Blass, Gianni Versace, Valentino Garavani, Azzedine Alaïa, Pino Lancetti, Halston, Oscar de la Renta, and Calvin Klein. She has been on the cover of Vogue (International editions) 37 times. She was also on the cover of Elle seven times in a row. She was the face of ad campaigns for brands like Revlon, Alberto VO5, Balmain, Obao, Christian Dior, Clairol, Hush Puppies, Orbit gum, Max Factor, Virginia Slims, and Cutex.

As she got older, Dickinson looked for new ways to stay involved in the fashion world. She became a fashion photographer. In 2008, she started her own jewelry line on HSN.

In 2009, Dickinson recorded a song called "Crazy."

The "First Supermodel" Discussion

Dickinson (right) and Samata at London Fashion Week 2010

Janice Dickinson says she created the word supermodel in 1979 and was the first "supermodel." However, the word was already used in the 1940s. A writer named Judith Cass used the term in 1942 in her Chicago Tribune article. In 1943, author Clyde Matthew Dessner used it in his book So You Want to Be a Model!.

Newspapers like The New York Times and The Daily Times called Twiggy a supermodel in 1967. In 1968, Glamour magazine described Twiggy, Cheryl Tiegs, Wilhelmina, Veruschka, Jean Shrimpton, and 15 other models as "supermodels."

Many other famous models were called supermodels before Janice Dickinson. These include Lisa Fonssagrives, Dorian Leigh, Gia Carangi, Jean Shrimpton, and Lauren Hutton. Lauren Hutton was the first model to get a big cosmetics contract with Revlon in 1974.

Janice Dickinson's TV Career

In 2003, Janice Dickinson became well-known again as a judge on the reality TV show America's Next Top Model. The show's producer, Tyra Banks, hired her because she thought Janice could give good advice to the contestants. As a judge, Dickinson was known for being witty and giving very honest feedback.

Dickinson often had disagreements with the other judges. A common issue between Dickinson and Tyra Banks was about plus-size models.

After four seasons, Tyra Banks decided to replace Dickinson with Twiggy. Dickinson was upset by this decision. She felt she was just being honest and helping the girls. She compared herself to Simon Cowell from American Idol. Even after leaving, Dickinson made guest appearances on the show in later seasons. She was a photographer, a mentor, and an interviewee.

In 2005, Dickinson was on The Surreal Life. In 2006, she starred in her own reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. This show was on the Oxygen channel. It ran for four seasons and showed Janice starting her new career as a modeling agent. She also appeared with British model Abigail Clancy in Beauty & The Best. This show followed Clancy's efforts to become a model in America.

In November 2007, Dickinson joined the British reality show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. She competed in many challenges and finished in second place. She was also a contestant on the American version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2009.

In 2009, Dickinson was a guest judge on the Finnish version of Top Model. She had an accident where she fell down stairs and later apologized to the models.

She has made other TV appearances, including an episode of Charmed and the music video for Darren Hayes's "On the Verge of Something Wonderful." In 2010, she was on the celebrity edition of Come Dine with Me.

Dickinson appeared in the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2010. In 2011, she was a guest star in an episode of 90210.

In August 2015, Dickinson was a housemate on the sixteenth season of the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother. She was the seventh celebrity to leave the house.

In 2020, Dickinson appeared on season 24 of The Bachelor. In 2023, she was on I'm a Celebrity... South Africa, an all-star version of the UK show. She had to leave the show early due to a head injury but still finished in 10th place.

Personal Life

Janice Dickinson has been married four times. Her past husbands include Ron Levy, Simon Fields, and Alan B. Gersten. She has two children, a son named Nathan and a daughter named Savannah. In 2012, she announced her engagement to Dr. Robert Gerner, also known as "Rocky." They got married in December 2016.

In March 2016, it was announced that Dickinson had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Books by Janice Dickinson

Dickinson has released several books about her life. Her first memoir, No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel (2002), shared stories from her modeling days. Her next book, Everything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect (2004), talked about her life in modeling and her experiences with plastic surgery.

Film and TV Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Janice Dickinson para niños

• List of people from Florida
• List of people from Brooklyn, New York
• List of women writers