Veronica Webb was the first Black woman to receive a major U.S. cosmetics contract, signing with Revlon in 1992.
The Revlon agreement was an important commercial milestone because cosmetics campaigns had traditionally offered limited visibility to Black models. Webb’s contract placed her in a prominent national advertising role and helped broaden the range of faces used by major beauty companies.
The achievement is distinct from being the first Black model on a particular magazine cover. Beverly Johnson, Naomi Campbell, and Tyra Banks each have separate milestones involving American Vogue, French Vogue, and Sports Illustrated, respectively. Webb’s record concerns a major U.S. cosmetics contract.
Webb also worked in fashion editorial and runway modeling and later became a writer and television personality. Her career illustrates how the supermodel era increasingly connected fashion modeling with beauty advertising and mainstream media.