Tracey Norman was the first Black transgender woman to model. At the start of her career, she didn't disclose her identity and was able to work with publications such as Essence, Vogue Italia, and Harper's Bazaar India. In 1975, she appeared on the box of Clairol's Born Beautiful Hair Colour No.512. The shade was one of Clairol's bestsellers at the time. In 1980, the truth about her birth gender was discovered by a hairdresser while on a photo shoot. The hairdresser publicly outed her, and as a result, companies refused to work with her. After years struggling to find work, Norman became an active figure in the drag ball community.
In 2015, Norman became the subject of a biographical piece written by digital fashion site The Cut. The following year, Clairol signed her as the face of its "Nice 'n Easy Color as Real as You Are" campaign. Norman later became one of two openly transgender models to appear on the cover of Harper's Bazaar.
It took a lot of courage for Norman to enter the world of modeling, especially at a time when transgender people weren't accepted in society. As attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community have now thankfully changed, the revitalization of Norman's career was well overdue.
