Gail O’Neill was a top fashion model who debuted in the 1980s and became one of the original correspondents for “The Early Show” on CBS.
- Died: October 10, 2023 (Who else died on October 10?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 61.
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Gail O’Neill’s legacy
O’Neill was working in marketing for Xerox when she was offered a chance at a modeling career. Launching her career in the mid-1980s, she became one of a new vanguard of Black fashion models. She appeared on the covers of Vogue and Mademoiselle and in ads for such companies as Avon, Esprit, Revlon, and Diet Coke. In 1992, O’Neill was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She continued modeling throughout her life, including later work for Italian Vogue and Calvin Klein. O’Neill became notable among models for her refusal to appear in ads for cigarettes or for companies that had South African investments during the apartheid era.
While O’Neill continued her modeling career, she also began working as a journalist. In 1999, she became one of the founding correspondents on “The Early Show” on CBS, where she presented the “Box Office Plus” segment. O’Neill went on to host “Travel Now” for CNN and “Mission Organization” for HGTV. She also did further work on CNN and on WABE, Atlanta’s NPR affiliate, and she worked as a photographer.
Notable quote
“Beauty, or a lack of it, was not something I ever thought about as a young child. In fact, I think children are far more adept at perceiving true beauty, because they haven’t been corrupted by outside forces. Likewise, the older we get, and the more we buy into mass media’s definition of beauty, the more likely we are to find fault with ourselves and others.” —from a 2013 interview for the American Museum of Natural History
Tributes to Gail O’Neill
Full obituary: Vogue
