Janice Dickinson

Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 15 1955) ^[1] is the self-proclaimed first American supermodel, fashion photographer, actress, author and an agent. She has also recently opened her own modeling agency, the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

Biography

Relationships and family life

Janice Dickinson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Ray Dickinson (of Italian and Scottish descent) and Jennie Pietrzykoski, who is of Polish, Irish and Japanese ancestry. ^[2]. She moved with her parents to Hollywood, Florida in 1957.

She has been divorced three times. Her former husbands are Ron Levy, Alan B. Gersten, and Simon Fields, by whom she has a son, Nathan Fields. She has a daughter, Savannah Dickinson, by former boyfriend, Fred Vallery. A paternity test proved that the father was not Sylvester Stallone, as she had thought, but Vallery. In her books and in interviews, she has also discussed her numerous sexual relationships with male and female celebrities^[3].

Her past lovers include Warren Beatty, Sir Mick Jagger, Jack Nicholson and Liam Neeson [2] In an interview on The Howard Stern Show in 2007 Dickinson admitted to having had sex with over 1,000 men.^[4]

Career

Early life and modeling career

After graduating from South Broward High School, she began modeling in New York and Europe. In the beginning she was rejected often by people such as modeling matriarch Eileen Ford. Dickinson left for Paris; after several months she was on the cover of five European magazines. She has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Cosmopolitan. She has also appeared in ads for Revlon and Clairol. Dickinson claims to be the first "supermodel," despite a number of more well known models coming before her.

Dickinson is open about her extensive plastic surgery; she titled her second book Everything About Me Is Fake...And I'm Perfect. The US cover of the book enumerates and diagrams her "enhancements."^[5] She also writes about the physical and sexual abuse she and her sister, Alexis, suffered at the hands of her late father when they were young.

In early June 2006, Janice appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, along with TV psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow, to discuss the abuse that she saw in her early life. She urged victims of abuse to come forward with their stories.

Post-modeling career

Dickinson served as a judge on the reality TV series America's Next Top Model during the first four seasons. After quitting (or possibly being fired) in the spring of 2005, she was replaced by Twiggy. However, claims of her being fired from the show are unclear. From season five onwards, she has made several appearances as a guest personality or guest photographer. She was last seen on the seventh season as a guest personality in a challenge; the contestants conducted an impromptu interview with her on the Red Carpet.

Janice has also written several books: No Lifeguard On Duty (2002 HarpersCollins Publishers), Everything About Me is Fake... And I'm Perfect (2004 HarpersCollins Publishers), and Check Please!: Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006 HarpersCollins Publishers).

In 2005, Dickinson starred in the fifth season of The Surreal Life. Dickinson's actions during the show were erratic and volatile, and she had a recurring feud with Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. Omarosa herself brought up allegations that Dickinson was an alcoholic and a crack addict. Dickinson admitted to past drug addiction and alcohol abuse in her autobiography, although there was no evidence indicating she engaged in substance abuse on the show other than her bizarre behavior. During the cast's final dinner together, Omarosa refused to apologize for her comments about Dickinson's drug use and mothering skills, despite the fact that she had earlier that day when the two were alone. This caused Janice to leave the show on the last night in a fit of rage.

Dickinson's current ventures include starting her own Hollywood-themed restaurant known as The Couture Cafeteria. She has also started her own modeling agency and is starring in the reality TV show detailing the opening, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. The series debuted on June 6, 2006 on Oxygen, and reached the highest rating of Oxygen Network since the launch of the network in 1998.

In early 2007, top British cable channel Living announced Janice Dickinson had signed on to make a new reality show, mentoring Abigail Clancy (the runner up of Britain's Next Top Model cycle 2) on trying to crack America.

References

-On the Feb. 20, 2007 episode of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Dickinson states her age as 52.

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