Veronica Webb

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Veronica Webb bigraphy, stories - American model

Veronica Webb : biography

February 25, 1965 –

Veronica Webb (born February 25, 1965) is an American model, actress, writer, journalist and television personality. Webb was the first African-American to have a major cosmetics contract. Webb appeared on covers of Vogue, Essence and Elle magazines and on the runway for Victoria’s Secret and Chanel.

Biography

Early life

Webb was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Marion (née Stewart), a public health nurse, and Leonard Douglas Webb, an electrician.http://www.filmreference.com/film/34/Veronica-Webb.html Prior to her birth, both her parents spent 20 years in the Army. She grew up in a working class community. One of Webb’s sisters became an oncologist and another is a mathematician.

As a youth, Webb looked at magazines and admired the freedom of women who were involved in the fashion industry. Models controlled the way they appeared while other women did not. She enjoyed comic books and dreamed of becoming an animator. She identified with heroes in comics who usually came from ordinary places.Model, Michael Gross (writer), William Morrow and Company, 1995, pgs. 443-448.

Webb graduated in 1983 from Detroit’s Waldorf School and moved to New York to study design. After a makeup artist saw her in a housewares boutique, Webb dropped out of school to become a model.Odds And Ends, Five Questions, European Stars and Stripes (newspaper), May 24, 1998, pg. 85. She also appeared in the music video for New Order’s "Round and Round" off their 1989 album "Technique" and appears briefly in Scritti Politti’s "Perfect Way" video from their 1985 album "Cupid & Psyche 85".

Career

Webb moved to New York City to earn her college degree and was discovered on the streets by a New York makeup artist In New York, Webb pursued a modeling career and eventually became a spokesmodel for Revlon. She was the first black supermodel to win an exclusive contract for a major cosmetics company. In 1991 Webb made her feature film debut in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever Her film credits include Someone Like You…, The Big Tease, and Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Jungle Fever. She has also been featured in a recurring role on the television show Damon and has appeared in Just Shoot Me!, and Clueless. She admits that comedy comes much easier for her than drama.

As a runway model she was in demand to be photographed wearing fashions from the collections of Azzedine Alaia, Isaac Mizrahi, Karl Lagerfeld, and Todd Oldham.More Than A Pretty Face, New York Times, June 19, 1994, pg. V1. Alaia and Lagerfeld became her friends.

Webb credits as a broadcaster include Good Morning America, Vogue magazine’s syndicated style show Trend Watch. Veronica has been named on American Vogue’s best dressed list three times.

She served as editor-at-large of Interview magazine, and was also monthly columnist for Paper Magazine, New York City’s style guide to downtown cool, for five years. Veronica wrote a weekly column on American culture in Panorama, Italy’s popular weekly news magazine, and has contributed as a writer for Details, Elle, The Sunday Times (UK) and The New York Times Syndicate. Webb was recently added as a contributing editor for Conde Nast’s Cookie magazine a lifestyle guide redefining modern motherhood. Esquire commissioned her to write an essay on cigars after she did a photo shoot with the publication with Regis Philbin. The periodical’s editors were interested that she enjoyed brainy, self-made men, who enjoyed smoking cigars.

In 1998 Miramax Books published Veronica Webb Sight: Adventures In The Big City. The volume is a remembrance of her life with a collection of her essays. Harvey Weinstein approached her while she was in line at the White House about publishing her essays and memoir. In the book Webb is especially frank about both her naivety and arrogance as a youth.

Webb was the co-host during the first season of Bravo’s Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style, before being replaced with fashion expert, personal stylist and salon owner Gretta Monahan for subsequent seasons.

In 2006, Webb played a high powered fashion editor opposite Rockman Dunbar in the independent feature film Dirty Laundry.

In 2010, Webb was named a member of the Eucerin Skin First Council to promote skin health.

Personal life

Webb learned French from Azzedine Alaia whom she lived with during her stay in Paris.

Webb dedicates her time towards several charitable organizations: LIFEBeat, Product Red and the RPM Nautical Foundation. LIFEBeat is close to Webb’s heart because she was deeply affected by the AIDs crisis in the 80’s as a model living in New York. Webb got involved with RPM because of her ex-husband, George Robb, who works to bring up shipwrecks for museums and governments.

She married George Robb in 2002 and the couple divorced in 2009, and is currently engaged to Chris Delgatto Their daughters are Leila Rose Robb (born October 2002) and Molly Blue Robb (born May 2004). Even though she’s been at the top of the modeling business and explored acting and writing, Webb says the biggest job to date is being a mom. "There was never a doubt in my mind that I’d have kids," Webb says. "There’s no way to imagine how challenging parenthood is until it’s on you. But I waited until I had sown my oats and was financially and emotionally ready."

Webb’s hobby is decorating—colors and textiles, and traveling. She also collects shipwreck artifacts and textiles from around the world.

Webb ran the ING New York City Marathon for the first time in 2009 and ran for Harlem United Community AIDS Center.

Filmography

  • Jungle Fever
  • In Too Deep
  • The Big Tease
  • Dirty Laundry
  • Malcolm X