The Models Who Ruled the Fashion World in the '80s

New Jersey-born Alexander is credited with breaking diversity barriers in the fashion industry. She was one of the first black models to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, as well as one of the first to appear in Chanel beauty campaigns. In addition to runway appearances for Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, and Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander also landed on the cover Vogue’s January 1989 issue in a portrait shot by Peter Lindbergh.

She most recently signed with IMG and shot a 2016 L'Oreal campaign with her old pal, Lindbergh, featuring the hashtag #betterthanever.