Janice Dickinson

Janice Dickinson
Janice Dickinson
Born	Janice Doreen Dickinson; February 16, 1955 (age 71); Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Model, television personality, entrepreneur
Years active	1970s–present
Known for	Modeling career, judge on America's Next Top Model, founder of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
Notable work	No Lifeguard on Duty (2002), Everything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect (2004), Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006)

Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 16, 1955) is an American model, television figure, and entrepreneur. Renowned for her modeling work during the 1970s and 1980s, Dickinson controversially claims to be the original supermodel, though Lisa Fonssagrives is generally acknowledged as the first. She acted as a judge on four seasons of the reality show America's Next Top Model (2003–2006) and established a modeling agency in 2005, which was showcased in the reality series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (2006–2008).

In 2007, Dickinson finished second on the British reality competition I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Subsequently, she co-starred with British model Abbey Clancy in Janice & Abbey (2008), appeared on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2010), and took part in Celebrity Big Brother 16 (2015).

Dickinson has published three memoirs: No Lifeguard on Duty (2002), Everything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect (2004), and Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006).

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dickinson is the second daughter of Jennie Marie (née Pietrzykowski) and Samuel Ray Dickinson. Her heritage includes Polish roots from her mother and Irish ancestry from her father. She grew up in Hollywood, Florida alongside her older sister Alexis, who works in real estate, and her younger sister Debbie, who also pursued modeling.

Dickinson has candidly discussed enduring both emotional and physical abuse throughout her childhood and adolescence, including sexual abuse inflicted by her father on one of her sisters. She characterized her father as a "rageoholic pedophile" who subjected her to verbal and physical mistreatment when she resisted his advances.

Modeling career

After winning the national "Miss High Fashion Model" contest in the early 1970s, Dickinson relocated to New York City. Although initially turned down by agencies such as Eileen Ford, who considered her appearance "too ethnic," she was eventually noticed by fashion photographer Jacques Silberstein and signed by Wilhelmina Cooper. This led to a successful start in Paris where her distinctive "exotic features" attracted attention.

By 1978, upon returning to New York, Dickinson was earning $2,000 daily—approximately quadruple the typical rate—and secured representation with Ford Models for a significant ad campaign promoting JVC cameras. In response to Ford’s earlier rejection, she facilitated the transfer of nearly twenty models from Ford to John Casablancas's newly founded Elite Model Management.

During the 1980s, Dickinson achieved status as a prominent supermodel, gracing the covers of prestigious magazines including Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Elle. She collaborated with leading designers such as Gianni Versace, Valentino Garavani, and Calvin Klein. Her image appeared on 37 international editions of Vogue, and she fronted advertising campaigns for brands like Revlon, Christian Dior, and Max Factor.

To maintain her presence in the fashion world as she aged, Dickinson ventured into fashion photography and introduced a jewelry collection on the HSN in 2008. Additionally, in 2009 she recorded the track "Crazy," produced by Craig Taylor.

Assertion as the "First supermodel"

Janice Dickinson asserts that she originated the term supermodel in 1979 and considers herself the inaugural "supermodel." Nevertheless, historical records show the phrase was already in circulation during the 1940s. For instance, journalist Judith Cass employed it in a 1942 piece for the Chicago Tribune, and author Clyde Matthew Dessner incorporated it into his 1943 publication, So You Want to Be a Model!.

By the late 1960s, prominent outlets such as The New York Times and Glamour had referred to models like Twiggy, Cheryl Tiegs, Wilhelmina Cooper, Veruschka, and Jean Shrimpton using the term supermodel. In 1970, columnist Suzy Knickerbocker labeled Penelope Tree a supermodel. The early 1970s brought further acknowledgment of supermodels from media including Time, which identified Jean Shrimpton as a supermodel in 1971.

Several other figures are retrospectively regarded as pioneers of the supermodel era preceding Dickinson, including Lisa Fonssagrives and Dorian Leigh. Gia Carangi has also been credited as one of the first supermodels alongside Jean Shrimpton. Additionally, Lauren Hutton is recognized for being the first model to land a cosmetics endorsement deal when she signed with Revlon in 1974, marking an important development in modeling industry marketing.

Television career

Dickinson made her media comeback in 2003 by joining the reality competition America's Next Top Model as a judge. Producer Tyra Banks recruited her after reading Dickinson’s memoir No Lifeguard On Duty, appreciating her capacity to guide contestants through fashion industry realities. Known for her sharp humor and candid feedback, Dickinson frequently found herself at odds with fellow judges, particularly Kimora Lee Simmons and Nolé Marin, with disagreements often centering on plus-size model representation.

After four seasons, Banks replaced Dickinson with Twiggy, a decision Dickinson described as difficult, emphasizing her role as an honest advocate for contestants. Despite stepping down, she returned as a guest mentor and photographer throughout cycles 5 to 7. In 2005, she appeared on season five of The Surreal Life, where she notably clashed with cast member Omarosa Manigault.

From 2006 through 2010, Dickinson starred in her own reality series on Oxygen titled The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, which followed her shift into modeling agency management. She also collaborated with British model Abigail Clancy on Beauty & The Best, documenting Clancy’s attempt to break into the American modeling market; this program aired in the UK in 2007 and later in the US in 2008.

In November 2007, Dickinson took part in the British reality competition I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!, where she set a record by completing ten consecutive Bushtucker trials and ultimately finished as runner-up. She also competed in the American edition’s second season in 2009 but was eliminated midway through.

That same year, Dickinson served as a guest judge on Finland’s version of Top Model. During filming, an incident involving champagne and sleeping aids led to controversy and an official apology following an on-set mishap. Additional appearances include a cameo role on Charmed, featuring in Darren Hayes’ music video "On the Verge of Something Wonderful", and participating in the UK celebrity cooking show Come Dine with Me in 2010.

In 2010, Dickinson was featured on season four of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and guest-starred in an episode of 90210 in 2011. She joined the sixteenth season of British Celebrity Big Brother in August 2015 but was evicted seventh.

In 2020, Dickinson appeared on season twenty-four of The Bachelor. More recently, she competed on the all-star UK spin-off I'm a Celebrity... South Africa in 2023 but withdrew on day eleven due to a head injury requiring hospitalization; she placed tenth out of fifteen contestants.

Personal life

Janice Dickinson has entered into matrimony four times, with spouses including Ron Levy, Simon Fields, and Alan B. Gersten (also known as Albert Gersten). She is a mother to two children: a son named Nathan and a daughter named Savannah. At the time of Savannah’s birth in 1994, Dickinson was romantically linked to Sylvester Stallone, who was initially believed to be the father; however, subsequent DNA testing disproved this claim. She has openly shared details about her numerous relationships with both male and female celebrities. In 2012, she revealed her engagement to psychiatrist Dr. Robert Gerner, whom she wed in December 2016.

In 2014, Dickinson joined a group of women accusing comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault, alleging that he raped her in 1982. She claimed that earlier efforts to include this incident in her 2002 autobiography were blocked due to legal intimidation from Cosby and his representatives.

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

Books

Dickinson authored a memoir recounting her "wild days" as a supermodel titled No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel (2002), which introduced her story to a new audience. Her next book, published in 2004 and titled Everything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect, delves into her experiences within the modeling industry, plastic surgery journeys, and battles with anorexia, bulimia, and alcoholism. In 2006, she released Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating, which centers on her romantic relationships and offers dating advice.

Bibliography

Dickinson, Janice (2002). No Lifeguard on DutyTemplate:Spaced ndashThe Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel. New York City: ReganBooks;

Filmography

As actress
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Exposed	Model
1998	Buddy Faro	Evelyn Maynard	1 episode
2005	Charmed	Paige #2	Episode: "Still Charmed and Kicking"
2005	Wassup Rockers	Beverly Hills Actress	Cameo appearance
2021	Pink Rehabilitation	Dr. Janice

As herself
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003–2006	America's Next Top Model	Judge
2004	Rock Me Baby	Herself	Episode: "Look Who's Talking"
2005	The Surreal Life	Herself	Season 5
2005–2006	The Tyra Banks Show	Herself	10 episodes
2006	Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles	Herself	1 episode
2006–2008	The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency	Herself
2007	Janice & Abbey	Herself	Main role
2007	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (UK)	Participant	Series 7, runner-up
2009	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (US)	Participant	Season 2
2010	Finland’s Next Top Model	Guest judge	1 episode
2010	Come Dine with Me	Herself	Celebrity edition episode
2010	8 Out of 10 Cats	Herself	1 episode
2010	Loose Women	Herself	Guest panellist; 2 episodes
2010–2011	Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
2011	Celebrity Juice	2 episodes \|
2011	Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model	Guest judge; 2 episodes \|
2012	Sweden's Next Top Model	Guest judge \|
2012	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	Guest judge; 1 episode \|
2014, 2016	Botched (TV series)	Herself; 2 episodes \|
2015	Celebrity Big Brother 16	Contestant; Series 16, 7th place \|
2015	Couples Therapy	Herself; 5 episodes \|
2018	The Face Thailand	Guest judge; 1 episode \|
2020	The Bachelor (American TV series)	Herself; 1 episode \|
2023	I'm a Celebrity... South Africa	Participant; 11 episodes (withdrew) \|

External links