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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2012)
Arts & Entertainment Beverly Johnson: The ‘Beverly’s Full House’ Interview B everly Johnson is the first African-American super- model, as well as an actress, author, activist, business- woman and TV personality. She was the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine, and her beautiful face has graced over 500 magazine covers. Named by one of the 20th Cen- tury’s most influential people in fashion by the New York Times, Johnson is also the mother of suc- cessful plus-size model, Anansa Sims Patterson. Her complex rela- tionship with Anansa is explored in the new docu-series Beverly’s Full House which debuted on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Net- work) on March 31st. Beverly has a niece with Downs Syndrome and is a spokesperson for the Global Downs Syndrome Foundation. And the National Por- trait Gallery in Washington, D.C. has a portrait of her on display as C ELEBRITY I NTERVIEW by Kam Williams available at Target stores nation- wide. For more information on her beauty line, of hair care, skin care, bath and body products, visit please visit www.beverlyjohn- son.com. An avid golfer, Beverly can be found unwinding on the golf course when not working on or off camera. She lives in Rancho Mirage, California with her two collies Flame and Hollywood. Here, she talks about all of the above, plus her recent perform- ance as Brenda in ‘Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds.’ ‘We’re not going to have any buffoonery. You’ve got the wrong family, if that’s what you’re looking for’ part of its “The Black List” exhi- bition, featuring photographs of 50 iconic African Americans. Recently, Johnson launched a new beauty line — Model Logic by Beverly Johnson — which includes hair care products and Beverly Johnson Ponytails. It is Kam Williams: Hi Bev- erly, thanks for the inter- view. I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you. We’re the same age, so I’ve followed your entire career right from your meteoric rise. Beverly Johnson: Thanks, Kam. Where did you grow up? KW: St. Albans. Have you ever heard of it? BJ: Are you kidding? I lived with my aunt in St. Albans when I first moved to New York City. Wow! We were neighbors! It’s sad that so many special communities like St. Albans and Baldwin Hills are really disappearing. KW: Tell me a little about your new TV series, “Beverly’s Full House.” BJ: I went up to Oprah and told her I had some shows I wanted to pitch to her. I had no idea she was going to like the reality series. It’s a constructive show about mother and daughter relationships. In addition, the cameras follow me around while I’m building my company. We’re not going to have any buffoonery. You’ve got the wrong family, if that’s what you’re looking for. Oprah has a certain integrity about herself and she knows what image she wants for her network. So, I felt very com- fortable working with her. The show has lots of laughs and a few tears, and I do know that people will take a lot away from the show KW: When I interviewed Gabrielle Union about ‘Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds’ recently, she told me how flattered she was to have you play her mother in the film. BJ: I adore Gabrielle Union. She reminds me of my daughter so much. She’s smart… she’s articu- late…she’s nice… she has a really sweet soul… she’s ambitious... I just adore her. I really do. And Tyler Perry is another person I admire. I’m not an actress, but if he calls, you go. Making that movie was a lot of fun. KW: Tell me a little about your new beauty line, Model Logic. BJ: I decided to take a leap of faith and go into business for Beverly Johnson myself. I’m scared to death! But this is the hair care line of my dreams, meaning it uses the for- mulas that I’ve been chasing for the last ten years. I might not make as much money, but there are no compromises on quality here. KW: Even if you designed the dream hair care line, you still had to land a distribution deal to be able to reach everybody. BJ: Yes, that’s where Target comes in. I still have my Korean beauty supply stores, as well as the retail outlets. KW: Why go into business for yourself instead of just doing a licensing and royalties deal where you lend your name to a product line? BJ: I decided it’s now or never. There’s so much more purpose behind my getting up in the morn- ing. Business is hard, really hard, but it’s worth it. So, I’m very for- tunate to have managed to develop this amazing team of people for this venture. See MODEL on page 10 April 11, 2012 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7
