The character arc of Iman
Born 25 July 1955 in Mogadishu, the daughter of a diplomat and a doctor. Between then and now sit a night crossing into Kenya as a refugee, a chance discovery while studying in Nairobi, a first Vogue job in 1976, a stand for equal pay that briefly stopped the work, and a cosmetics line built in 1994 for skin tones the counters had skipped. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Iman?
The refugee who made fashion see everyone.
She was born Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid in Mogadishu, the daughter of a diplomat and a doctor. After a military coup in 1969 and the unrest that followed, her mother took the children across the Kenyan border on foot one night in 1972, and overnight a diplomat's daughter was a refugee with the clothes she stood in. In Nairobi she studied political science, and in 1975 the photographer Peter Beard saw her on the street. The press that met her arrival cast her as a goat herder who spoke no English. She was a diplomat's daughter who spoke five languages, and she corrected the record herself.
Her first job, in 1976, was for American Vogue, and she became one of the first African models to reach the top of the industry, a muse to designers from Yves Saint Laurent to Versace. When she learned that Black models were paid less for the same work, she refused to accept it. She told her agency to call her when they were ready to pay her the rate white models were paid, went without bookings for about three months, and came back at the rate she had named. Other Black models were then paid it too.
She left the runway in 1989, on her own schedule, and built the second act that has outlasted the first. In 1994 she founded Iman Cosmetics, formulating the shades that beauty counters had skipped, and grew it into a business worth about 25 million dollars a year. She married the musician David Bowie in 1992 and raised their daughter. Decades on she is still named among the people who changed who fashion is for, honored by the CFDA in 2010 and by her peers since. Her line is worth reading because the person who crossed a border with nothing is the same one who decided what she was worth, and held to it.
The moments
Iman's timeline.
The 1950s
Born in Mogadishu
Milestone. Born Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid, the daughter of a diplomat and a doctor.
The 1970s
Fled to Kenya by night
Setback, and it changed everything. After a coup and years of unrest, the family crossed the border on foot, and overnight she was a refugee.
Discovered in Nairobi
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A student of political science, seen on the street by the photographer Peter Beard.
Cast as a goat herder
Setback. The press cast her as a goat herder who spoke no English. She spoke five languages, and said so.
First American Vogue job
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her first assignment, and the start of a climb to the top of global fashion.
Her first daughter born
Milestone. A daughter, born as her career was rising.
The 1980s
Refused unequal pay
Setback, and it changed her direction. She learned Black models were paid less for the same work, and declined bookings for about three months until she was paid the same rate.
Take the rate, or hold the line
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: refuse work until paid equally, taken, or accept the going rate. The work stopped for about three months, then returned at the rate she had named, and other Black models were paid it too.
Left the runway her way
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She stepped away from modeling on her own schedule, to leave with grace and start something new.
The 1990s
Married David Bowie
Milestone. She married the musician David Bowie, a marriage that lasted until his death in 2016.
Founded Iman Cosmetics
Milestone, and it changed everything. The first cosmetics line built for women with skin of color, made for the shades the counters had skipped.
Lend the name, or build the line
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: build her own cosmetics line, taken, or endorse an existing brand. Iman Cosmetics grew into a business worth about 25 million dollars a year and put shades for skin of color on shelves that had none.
The 2010s
CFDA Fashion Icon honor
Milestone. The industry named her one of the people who had changed what beauty looked like.
The 2020s
A lifetime achievement honor
Milestone. Her peers marked a career that had reshaped the industry, five decades on.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it set moving is already everywhere: on every beauty counter that now carries more than one shade, and in every person who was underpriced by others and decided what they were worth.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
Hers is seven decades in and still adding to itself. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about a minute.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Iman (model).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Iman biography.
- Marie Claire UK, Life stories: Iman.
- Harper's Bazaar Arabia, Iman on her refugee roots.
- Business of Fashion, BoF 500: Iman.
- TheWrap, Iman interview on the modeling industry, 2021.
- W Magazine and Bustle, on her stand for equal pay.
- Face2Face Africa, on Iman Cosmetics.
- Essence, Iman turns 71, 25 July 2026.