Early life and career

Born into a middle-class family in Buffalo, New York, Johnson was a champion swimmer in her youth and aspired to be a lawyer. She was a criminal justice major at Northeastern University when she tried modeling while on summer break in 1971. She quickly landed an assignment with Glamour and began working steadily. She went on to appear on more than 500 magazine covers, including the August 1974 issue of Vogue, becoming the magazine's first African-American cover model. Her appearance on the cover changed the beauty ideal in US fashion, and by 1975, every major American fashion designer had begun using African-American models.

In addition to modeling, Johnson has also written a book, Beverly Johnson's Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty, and embarked on an acting career. She has also had roles in the films Ashanti (1979), The Meteor Man (1993), Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997), and Crossroads (2002). She has appeared in guest spots on several television series, including Martin (TV series), Law & Order, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Parent 'Hood and the Super Bowl episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun (1998). She served for two seasons as a celebrity judge on the TV Land series She's Got the Look, a reality series, where women over 35 compete for a modeling contract and magazine spread. At the start of the series in 2008, Johnson shared that she and other models had suffered from anorexia and bulimia during her career. She had a brief singing career, releasing one album in 1979 on Buddah Records. Johnson has been a longtime hair and beauty influencer.

Memoir and accusation against Bill Cosby

Main article: Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations

In late 2014, she wrote an article for Vanity Fair in which she accused Bill Cosby of drugging her in a meeting at his Manhattan residence in the 1980s, although the incident did not result in a sexual assault. Johnson said that Cosby spiked a cup of cappuccino with an unknown drug. As she felt her "body go completely limp," she realized what was happening. Johnson said she then screamed and cursed at him several times before Cosby got angry and dragged her outside and hailed a cab for her. Johnson decided to tell her story in hopes that "by going public" she would "encourage anyone has been sexually victimized to speak out." Her memoir, The Face That Changed It All,which discusses the Cosby incident, was released on August 25, 2015.

Subsequently, Cosby started a defamation law suit against Johnson, alleging that she was lying about the drugging incident and contending that Johnson's story, first told in the Vanity Fair article, had been repeated in numerous interviews. It seeks unspecified damages and an injunction preventing the model from repeating her claims and requests they be removed from Johnson's memoir. A friend of Johnson said, “She expected this to happen. She didn’t seem upset 'with the news', but I think she’s prepared to counter-sue.” Cosby dropped the lawsuit on February 19, 2016 to devote more time to his criminal case.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1976	Deadly Hero
	Emergency!		TV, 1 episode
1977	The Baron
1978	Crisis in Sun Valley	Beverly	Television film
1979	Ashanti	Dr. Anansa Linderby	Alternative title: Ashanti, Land of No Mercy
1980	The Sky Is Gray	John Lee's Mother	Television film
1990	Hunter	Allistar Lang	TV, 1 episode
1992-1993	Law & Order	Marcela/Salamotu	TV, 2 episodes
1993	Martin	Ms. Trinidad
	Loaded Weapon 1	Doris Luger
	The Meteor Man	Woman Doctor
	The Cover Girl Murders	Michaela	Television film
	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives	Jane Marlowe Morrison	Television film
1994	A Brilliant Disguise	Barbara
	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Mrs. Cox	TV, 2 episodes
1995	The Wayans Bros.	Miss Kita	TV, 1 episode
	Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder	Alana Durand	Television film
1996	Red Shoe Diaries	Lorri	TV, 1 episode
	Crossworlds	The Queen
	The Parent 'Hood	Mrs. Jordon	TV, 1 episode
1997	True Vengeance	Lt. Kada Wilson	Alternative title: Truth or Consequences
	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Fashion designer	TV, 1 episode
	Def Jam's How to Be a Player	Robin
1998	3rd Rock from the Sun	Prell	TV, 2 episodes
	54	Elaine's Patron
2000	Down 'n Dirty	Sandra Collins
2002	Crossroads	Kit's Mother
	Red Shoe Diaries 15: Forbidden Zone	Lorri	Segment: The Forbidden Zone
2010	Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns	Kate	1 episode
2012	Beverly's Full House	Herself	TV, 8 episodes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]