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Janice Dickinson

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Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 15 1955) [1] is the self-proclaimed first American supermodel, fashion photographer, actress, author and an agent. She has also recently opened her own modeling agency, the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

Biography

Relationships and family life

Janice Dickinson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Ray Dickinson (of Belarusian descent) and Jennie Pietrzykoski, who is of Polish, Irish and Japanese ancestry. [2]. She moved with her parents to Hollywood, Florida in 1957.

She has been divorced three times. Her former husbands are Ron Levy, Alan B. Gersten, and Simon Fields, by whom she has a son, Nathan Fields. She has a daughter, Savannah Dickinson, by former boyfriend producer Michael Birnbaum. A paternity test proved that the father was not Sylvester Stallone, as she had thought. In her books and in interviews, she has also discussed her numerous sexual relationships with male and female celebrities[3].

Her past lovers include Warren Beatty, Sir Mick Jagger, Jack Nicholson and Liam Neeson [2]

Career

Early life and modeling career

After graduating from South Broward High School, she began modeling in New York and Europe. In the beginning she was rejected often by people such as modeling matriarch Eileen Ford. Dickinson flew off to Paris and after several months, she was on the cover of 5 European magazines. Standing 5' 9 1/2", she has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Cosmopolitan and Playboy. She has also appeared in ads for Revlon and Clairol. She was the muse to many designers and became the face of Versace's perfume line. During her quick reign on top, she was the highest-paid model on the block. While many models got $75 a day in her time, she raked in $2,000 a day. She took modeling jobs only if she was paid top dollar. Dickinson supposedly coined the title "supermodel" despite a number of more well known models coming before her.

Dickinson is open about her extensive plastic surgery; she titled her second book Everything About Me Is Fake...And I'm Perfect. The US cover of the book enumerates and diagrams her "enhancements."[4] She also writes about the physical and sexual abuse she and her sister, Alexis, suffered at the hands of her late father, when she was young.

In early June 2006, Janice appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, along with an acclaimed psychotherapist to discuss the abuse that she saw in her early life. She urged victims of abuse to come forward with their stories.

Post-modeling career

Dickinson served as a judge on the reality TV series America's Next Top Model during the first four seasons. After quitting (or possibly being fired) in the spring of 2005, she was replaced by Twiggy. However, claims of her being fired from ANTM are unclear. As of Cycle 5 onwards, she has made several appearances as a guest personality or guest photographer. She appeared in the fifth season as the photographer for one episode's photoshoot (with the theme of the photoshoot being plastic surgery) and three times during the sixth season (giving proper interview, posing tips, posing with Lisa D'Amato, and telling the contestants about the dark side of the modeling industry). She was last seen on the seventh season as a guest personality whereby the contestants are given a challenge to interview her on the Red Carpet.

Dickinson has expressed disapproval for the winners of America's Next Top Model, saying that they do not have enough potential to be successful. On Dickinson's MySpace she comments on the ANTM contestants, saying "They are not of the caliber I was, or even of what Tyra was." She also revealed why she left the show, claiming she was fired.[5] Janice has also written several books: No Lifeguard On Duty (2002 HarpersCollins Publishers), Everything About Me is Fake... And I'm Perfect (2004 HarpersCollins Publishers), and Check Please!: Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006 HarpersCollins Publishers).

In 2005, Dickinson starred in the fifth season of The Surreal Life. Dickinson's actions during the show cast her in a negative light in some people's eyes, with her erratic, volatile behavior and a recurring feud with Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth of The Apprentice fame. On one episode, she held a prop knife close to Omarosa, causing the others, especially Omarosa, to become uncomfortable. While referring to Omarosa, Dickinson claimed to have seen "the scars of current American society." Omarosa herself brought up allegations that Dickinson was an alcoholic and a crack addict. Dickinson admitted to past drug addiction and alcohol abuse in her autobiography, although there was no evidence indicating she engaged in substance abuse on the show other than her bizarre behavior. During the cast's final dinner together, Omarosa refused to apologize for her comments about Dickinson's drug use and mothering skills, despite the fact that she had earlier that day when the two were alone. This caused Janice to leave the show on the last night in a fit of rage.

Dickinson's current ventures include starting her own Hollywood-themed restaurant known as The Couture Cafeteria. She has also started her own modeling agency and is starring in the reality TV show detailing the opening, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. The series debuted on June 6, 2006 on Oxygen, and reached the highest rating of Oxygen Network since the launch of the network in 1998.

In early 2007, top British cable channel Living announced Janice Dickinson had signed on to make a new reality show, mentoring Abigail Clancy (the runner up of Britain's Next Top Model cycle 2) on trying to crack America.


Trivia

  • She has appeared on 37 covers of Vogue.[6]
  • Janice has openly admitted to having abused drugs along with other models such as Gia Carangi and Naomi Campbell.
  • She considers herself the world's first supermodel, although many notable models came before her.
  • During a segment on giving a proper interview for the models on the 7th season of America's Next Top Model, she proclaimed she coined the term "supermodel" back in 1979.
  • Resides in Beverly Hills, California.
  • She played herself on the TV show Charmed. (Series 8, Episode 1).

References

  1. ^ Her date of birth is sometimes stated as February 15, 17, or 28 in 1953, 1954, 1955, or 1962. Municipal records from Los Angeles California and Hollywood, Florida give the date as February 15. In Dickinson's autobiography No Lifeguard on Duty she wrote, "When I was just eighteen months old, in 1957, the family moved from Brooklyn to Florida." She also graduated from high school in 1973 [1], making 1955 her more likely year of birth.
  2. ^ Susan Phinney. "A moment with ... Janice Dickinson, model/photographer/author". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Drew MacKenzie. "Dickinson, on the covers - and under them". Daily News. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Everything About Me Is Fake . . . And I'm Perfect". AmazonOnlineReader. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "ANICE DICKINSON is in your extended network". MySpace.com. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Stefanie Frith. "Supermodel Janice Dickinson to speak in Palm Springs". The Desert Sun. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

-On her MySpace page and on the Feb. 20, 2007 episode of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Dickinson states her age as 52.

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