Lost Ones: Donyale Luna
She was born into a turbulent Detroit household, with an abusive father who was murdered when she was 18. Her mother encouraged her to become a nurse. A relative once described her as being “a very weird child, even from birth, living in a wonderland, a dream.” Donyale Luna created her own dream. She made up a story to hide her painful upbringing, denied the reality revealed on her birth certificate and claimed that her biological father’s last name was Luna, and her mother was Mexican. Her grandmother became an Irishwoman who married a black interior decorator. And so the stage was set for this extraordinarily beautiful and troubled woman, whose created identity helped to bring her fame and fortune and all of the trappings that come with those things.
She was discovered by photographer David McCabe, and left Detroit behind for the lights of New York City. From all accounts, her rise was meteoric. A sketch of her appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in 1965, and Richard Avedon signed an exclusive contract to photograph her.
Time Magazine published an article about her, titled The Luna Year. The article already reveals the trouble she was already beginning to encounter: “A month after hitting New York, she married a young actor, divorced him after ten months, and now will not even give his name. “I love New York,” she says. “But there were bad things. People were on drugs or hung up on pot. There was homosexuality and lesbianism and people who liked to hurt.” Unhappy with that world but unwilling to give it all up and head back to Detroit, she fled to London and Paris last December.”
In 1966, she became the first African American model to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine, a photograph in which she covered her whole face with her hand, except for her boldly outlined eye. Reportedly, that shot was chosen so as to not offend the magazine’s regular readership.
Donyale Luna saw her heritage as a thorn in her side. She was known to wear blond wigs and obvious green contact lenses. The journalist Judy Stone wrote a profile for the New York Times in 1968, titled “Luna, Who Dreamed of Being Snow White,” and described her as “secretive, mysterious, contradictory, evasive, mercurial, and insistent upon her multiracial lineage — exotic, chameleon strands of Mexican, American Indian, Chinese, Irish, and, last but least escapable, Negro.”
When pressed about her African American identity and influence, Luna bristled. When interviewed about her groundbreaking roles in popular films, including the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, Fellini’s Satyricon, and Andy Warhol’s Camp, and asked about the fact that she was breaking down doors for her sisters to follow, Luna retorted, “If it brings about more jobs for Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes, groovy. It could be good, it could be bad. I couldn’t care less.“
By the swinging sixties, she was living it up in London and hanging with the Rolling Stones. She expressed her love for LSD, saying “I think it’s great. I learned that I like to live, I like to make love, I really do love somebody, I love flowers, I love the sky, I like bright colors, I like animals. [LSD] also showed me unhappy things — that I was stubborn, selfish, unreasonable, mean, that I hurt other people.” Unprofessional behavior proved to unravel her illustrious career. In a New York Times interview, Beverly Johnson complained about Luna’s wacked-out mannerisms, saying “[she] doesn’t wear shoes winter or summer. Ask her where she’s from — Mars? She went up and down the runways on her hands and knees. She didn’t show up for bookings. She didn’t have a hard time, she made it hard for herself.”
She appeared nude in Playboy in April 1975, as photographed by her lover Luigi Cazzaniga. Today, Luna is survived by a daughter, Dream Cazzaniga, who works as a professional dancer in Italy. I was able to find only this photo. She is just as beautiful as her mother.
Hopefully more people will learn about her when Jennifer Poe’s documentary about Luna and Pat Hartley, the only black women to be part of Andy Warhol’s Factory, is finally released. For now, if you want to learn more about the mysterious and tragic beauty, visit this amazing website, which was my source for these beautiful photos. Also, there’s a teeshirt of her Warhol screen test on sale for $43.99 at Rock Rebel.
Donyale Luna died in 1979, of an accidental pill overdose in Rome. She was just 33 years old. Despite her tremendous fame in the Sixties and Seventies, today, Donyale Luna’s groundbreaking legacy is primarily remembered by the African American community, the very community she sought to distance herself from her whole life.
Category: Famous Faces
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Sites That Link to this Post
- Worn Through » Donyale Luna | November 24, 2007
- Crime in Detroit « Crime In Detroit | August 12, 2008
- Before their time: Donyale Luna « Observations and Musings | December 10, 2008
- Dossier Journal » Naomi Sims 1948 – 2009: The world’s first black supermodel | August 24, 2009
- Donyale Luna – Forever Fascinating | Afrobella | July 21, 2010
Thank you for this Bella! It’s an amazing story. I’m hoping to find a large print of the first photo you’ve posted to hang in my studio. I’m LOVIN’ that hairstyle too.. so chic.
First…I LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING!!!…I wish she knew what a beautiful BLACK woman she was and how proud she should have been…thanks for this little known black history fact!!!
Donyale Luna was definitely a very interesting persona. I interviewed the model Pat Cleveland some time ago and she told me a little about her (they were roommates in Italy in the 70s.)
I think she is better known in the (veteran) modeling world as the younger models think Naomi is ancient.
Hi Bella! I was wondering when you were going to do another “Lost Ones” story! And you definitely didn’t disappoint. This one was very intriguing to me (as was the Phyllis Hyman post). Thanks for introducing me to Ms. Luna!
Yeaaaahhhhh
Thank you Bella for the post on Ms Luna. She is apart of my screen saver along with La Baker and Grace Jones! I have some really good shots of Donyale if you want them. Luna was really troubled it seems. I hope she found peace before her rest.
oh BTW her real name was Peggy Freeman…Peggy. I think I would’ve changed my name, too.
Fascinating. Thank you for sharing this story. She was a beautiful but troubled soul. So sad.
This was a cool introduction to Donyale Luna, because honestly I have never heard of this woman before. She was a definite wild woman with an unsettled spirit.
Thank you for sharing this!
For some reason she calls to mind Jospehine.
Remember Mahogany (starring the classic bella Diana Ross)? Luna’s story sounds kind of like that, but I don’t remember Diana Ross’s character (in the movie) having probs with her ethnicity. The movie did have a happy ending though.
HAHAHA… Empress, my MOM’s name is Peggy! Oh, she’s gonna flip. But it doesn’t have the ring of “Donyale”, and I think she’d agree with that. Nichelle, I’m fascinated by Pat Cleveland! Did you ever write a post about the interview? I’d love to read and learn more about her.
Glad you are enjoying the Lost Ones articles, they’re pretty depressing to research. Especially the Phyllis Hyman, listening to her sing at 3 a.m. when I was writing about her sad ending was chilling. I’m cultivating a list of future Lost Ones, so if you’ve got suggestions, holla.
Great post Bella! I had seen her picture in the book “Black Beauty,” but I didn’t remember her name. It hurts my heart to know that she was so ashamed of being Black.
Nichelle, I’m fascinated by Pat Cleveland! Did you ever write a post about the interview? I’d love to read and learn more about her.
Hey Bella,
No, I have not posted about Pat Cleveland yet. Believe me, it’s on my to do list!
I interviewed her for the (old) Honey magazine. I used to write their Honey Icon column quite frequently and she was one of them.
Hi Bella,
Thanks for sharing about Donyale Luna. I never heard of her, but she sounds fascinating. Though I’m sorry she felt she had deny who she was.
The art historian Richard Powell at Duke University is also writing a book about her. It must be coming out pretty soon.
Tiffany I immediately thought of Josephine as well. She lied a lot about who her father was, her up-bringing and other things.
Marsha Hunt would be a good “Lost One” as well. She is still alive and well and a cancer survivor…..LIKE ME!
Bella, thanks for hipping me to this woman. I’d never heard of her; she was extremely beautiful. Also thanks for the hrads up on nappy star. Are you a member?
Thanks for posting a profile on this beautiful woman who was a trailblazer in many ways, but a lost soul as well.
Wow…..this sent chills up my spine. Such a beautiful and yet troubled soul. Too bad she felt so ashamed of her heritage. Black is Beautiful.
Pat Cleveland was the first black model I became aware of as a very young child (60s)…and not just because I grew up in Cleveland, lol. I remember seeing pictures of her in the beauty shop my mother went to, and just thinking she was the most beautiful woman ever. Nichelle, I too would love to read your interview with her.
Bella, thanks for this quick look at Donyale Luna, another fascinating model.
There is a lot of talent in Detroit. I wish the area got more respect. I enjoyed the post on Ms. Luna, very insightful. For real, people need to say no to drugs, and get some help! We have too many artists being killed of by these toxins.
Please keep educating the young ones on the Trailblazers both with happy and sad endings. It helps to remind ourselves there is so much more to being Black than BET will ever illustrate.
I am really thrilled that you were able to use some of the photos and info from my site for your piece. It’s great to see that Donyale is being remembered in such a positive way.
Indigo, I can get that photo for you in the largest size available. I can send it to the email address you left in the guestbook on the Luna site.
I would just like to commend you on your daily works. You are indeed a teacher to younger people like me. You really do teach me a great deal about women and importantly African woman who do their thing but are wiped out of mainstream knowledge. So thank you for your pride and priorities.
Much blessings and longevity.
Women with the same psychological complex as Luna still exist. I have a friend who insist that she is part Dominican and White. She insists! However,she is not. I wish one day EVERY black person would just be PROUD to be black. We are a beautiful, culturally diverse and talented people. uhuru.
That Vogue cover was really cool! I’m positive she would have NEVER been on the cover if she was a lot darker…how sad.
Now THIS would make an excellent movie. I think Halle could definetly pull this one off…or some unknown talent out there!
Jennifer Poe is one clever young lady, i wish her all the luck in the world. its great to see young black film makers doing their thing, hopefully people like Jennifer will help the film industry and its depiction of women of colour.
Great post Afrobella!
Bella…thank you so much for reminding us about this troubled Diva. I first ran across her name when a friend of mine was diagnosed with Marfan’s syndrome and she pointed out Donyale as an early example of it. The long thiness is part of the syndrome. Not sure she had Marfan’s but she was a beauty.
I am sadden to know she did not embrace her culture, I imagine coming from a violent childhood was destructive to her psyche.
Who knew wearing blue contacts was happening in the 60′s.
I love my chocolate skin, my full lips and my cocoa eyes…I can’t imagine what we make me that ashamed.
Thank you Bella for sharing this.
I didn’t know of Donyale until I read this – what a troubled black beauty.
Once again – cheers for the education!
Thank you Afrobella
This made my day , i love the clothes.. I looked her up and found that she was in fellini’s film Satyricon . I love the embroidery she modeled in all the photos i found !!!!!
Luna’s denial of her true racial mix reminds of Mariah when she was spinning some story about what her racial mix is and trying to lessen or negative her black antecedents..what do you think?
i read about donyale luna awhile ago, and i felt very ambivalent about her. while i thought she was stunning and i was elated to find that she was the first black model on a vogue cover, i was also disheartened by the fact that she bought into the white standard of beauty to the point that she denied her true heritage, wore contacts, and blonde wigs. i think you should write an article about model naomi sims, who was out around the same time but differed from donyale in that she was black and beautiful and reveled in it.
Being a black women and being multiracial is two different things. If you are an immediate combination of things you are not a black women (in a genetic sense) and should not be classified as such. This woman was mixed and ashamed to be mixed (especially with negro blood) an in turn classifying her, as a black woman is false. Why embrace some one who was ashamed of whom they were and denied it as often as possible during her lifetime? Luckily the black community has a few TRUE black women whom we can be proud of, people who paved the way for black models and supermodels today and Donyale was not one of them. I apologize for being so impudent but this is the truth.
No need to apologize for your comment, Daphne. Like I said, Donyale Luna was a lost one from the very beginning.
thanks for posting Ms. Bella. I agreed with eveyone else black is beautiful regardless of what shade we are and it’s sad that even today we still have people who can’t embrace that. Donyale was absolutly gorgeous.
It’s a shame that such a beautiful woman was ashamed of her heritage. I’m very interested in her now though.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rvirkTyJ8k
Wow..I have never heard of her.
That’s sad to when I hear about people denying their Black heritage. A lot of that goes on today.
I see a lot of times when people of mixed heritage…they’ll be like yea “I’m German, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Asian…. oh and yea and black.” Like it’s not cool to be Black.
Even African-Americans are quick to say what other blood they have in them.
^^^^^^
Exactly, what’s wrong with just being who you are. What most of us really are in the first place. I am tired of seeing black women and men with Hawaiian silky weave talking about they have Indian and German in their bloodline. The majority of the time people who claim to be mixed are really lying in the first place. This is beyond sickening and absolutely laughable. It’s sad that many of us hate ourselves so much that we would rather ignore and deny our ancestors.
I have this odd fascination with people who’ve made the decision to “pass”. Not that I’ve ever wanted to myself, but because of the whole issue of how irritating and difficult it is to be defined by your outer appearance not only by whites, but by blacks as well (But I do feel that God chose me to be born a black woman for his purpose and I shouldn’t get caught up in trying to “prove” that I should be seen as an individual). Great article and it’s cool to see that two women of color were a part of Warhol’s Factory(am a Mod-aholic). If you do another “Lost One’s” article, you should look up Belle da Costa Greene–there’s a book being released on her life in June(and the author, if anyone lives in the NYC area, is going to be speaking and holding a book-signing at the Morgan Library).
What a sad story but not uncommon during a time when anyone who didn’t “look black” dealt with identity issues within the black community. Sadly it sounds like the same mess we deal with today.
My family is very diverse in it’s makeup because we aren’t 100% african (honestly in this day and age whose family is?)but we do identify ourselves as black.
I love reading the different points of view on this site because it always reminds me that the “black” experience is very diverse and layered and never the same for anyone.
I’m a “natural” bella rocking my long straight hair that I came by genetically and it’s interesting how color and hair are connected to each of our experiences.
I have seen images of Donyale Luna and had no idea who she was. Thanks for sharing her story. We should have compassion for Luna because she was clearly pained by something that made her want to be someone else. Josephine Baker was proud of her culture (even though I think she would have preferred to be a lighter shade of ‘black’), so I see no parallels between her and Luna. Even so, and without consciously doing it, Luna was a link in a chain of black women who showed the world that black is beautiful.
Why is Beverly Johnson always credited as the first black woman on Vogue?
What a blast from the past. I hadn’t heard that name in like forever. Thank you for the wonderful update. She was a troubled soul indeed. Keep the Lost Ones coming.
Luna was not mixed.
I am amazed at your selection of people for this series of ” Lost Ones” and this one was no exception. I had know about Luna for sometime and was amazed that she not mentioned more from that era. I glad that you profiled her on this section. I do hope to see more great pics for this series. Keep up the good work !!
My goodness… so many “Judges”. Frankly. Until you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, how would you “know” about any of their reasons for doing what one does. I knew Donyale and found her to be everything opposite to what this article reads? Enjoy your lives everyone!
Before today I had never heard/read/seen one single, solitary thing about this woman. Now, I am fascinated by her!! Her story would make an incredible movie! I would love to hear from her daughter. Thank you so much for bringing our attention to this forgotten woman.