Jamaican Models
Past & Present Powerhouses in Fashion

Jamaican Models | Grace Jones (Photo: Caribbean National Weekly)

by Sheree-Anita Shearer | Associate Writer

We have quite a few Jamaican models who have taken the fashion industry by storm in past and recent years. Some are born right here on the island, and others are born outside the island but are proud of their Jamaican heritage.

Grace Jones

Jamaican Models | Grace Jones (Photo: loopnews.com)

Now you might be thinking, there are two Grace Jones’ because you’ve heard of the singer. Well, there is Grace Jones the singer, but she and Grace Jones the model are the same.

Grace Jones was born in Spanish Town, St. Catherine on May 19th, 1948. Her family then moved to America where she took a career in modelling. She gained success in New York before heading to Paris where stood out as a black woman and was welcomed for her unconventional style.

She has worked with major fashion houses, photographers and magazines throughout her career, Yves Saint Laurant, Hans Fruerer and Vogue are just a few of the many. Another famous photographer she has worked with is Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she has a son. Paulo Goude.

In 1977, she embarked on a musical career backed by Island Records and legendary Jamaican producers, Sly and Robbie. Jones would go on to create many hits from a fusion of genres including Reggae, punk, funk and pop. Hit songs, “Pull Up To The Bumper,” “Slave to the Rythm,” and "I've Seen That Face Before" are a part of the Jones discography.

A woman of many talents, she also embarked on an acting career. Two of her most memorable roles are Zula in Conan the Destroyer (1984) with co-stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and May Day in the subsequent 15th instalment of the James Bond movie series “A View to a Kill” (1985).

She received the National Honour, "Order of Jamaica" in 2018.

Stacey McKenzie

Jamaican Models | Stacey Mackenzie

Born in Jamaica, on March 27th, 1977, McKenzie moved to Canada where she would pursue a career in modelling. She started initially but stopped to complete her high school degree before moving to Paris to start working on her career again.

It was there where she worked with top fashion designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Christian Lacroix. She was also featured in the CK Be you campaign for Calvin Klein.

Her modelling career led to her being a judge on Canada’s Next Top Model In 2006. In September 2019, she was announced as one of three permanent judges on Canada's Drag Race.

In addition to these occupations, she is also a runway modelling coach and motivational speaker. Also, an active philanthropist is often in Jamaica assisting in whatever way possible, especially in education.

Jeniel Williams

Jamaican Models | Jeneil Williams (Photo: Julie Noni)

The Jamaican athlete turned model is known for her work with Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmo and W. She has also done campaigns for Jimmy Choo, Jean Paul Gaultier, Edun, Nordstrom, Calvin Klein, Motorola, Benetton, Baby Phat, Sephora, Victoria’s Secret, Top Shop and Aldo.

Her runway appearances have included the likes of Burberry, Fendi, Vivienne Westwood, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, Lanvin, Narciso Rodriquez, Nicole Miller and Prada.

Most models dream of what Jeneil has done, gracing the cover of Vogue magazine three times. She was also a part of Vogue’s diversity campaign where she is featured with her then newborn daughter Dylan.

Williams was also the first Caribbean model to appear in a global cosmetics campaign when she modelled for Infalliable by L’Oreal Paris in 2014.

The model has also added Nike and H&M to her list of campaigns after joining Nike as an ambassador and completing a digital campaign for H&M.

She was discovered in Jamaica by Pulse.

Nadine Willis

Jamaican Models | Nadine Willis (Photo: Pulse)

The Jamaican-born model was born in the inner-city of Water House, Kingston, with 12 of her 32 siblings. After being discovered by the veteran at Pulse, Kingsley Cooper, she scraped together enough for her plane ticket, her first flight and headed to London to find an international agency. This was somewhat of a challenge at first. But after benign signed by Select model management, the rest was history. Willis who was 25 at the time was quite old to be just starting a career as a model but had an incredible career nevertheless.

She signed a multi-year 5-figure contract with fashion house Gucci and she was hand-picked by Tom Ford for the 2003 collection which CNN said was among the top 15 in history.

Another great accomplishment for Willis was her contract with Britsh cosmetics brand Rimmel. Before signing Willis, the lone face of the brand was Kate Moss.

Following in the footsteps of her idol, Willis is also a recording artiste.

Robyn Mackintosh

The Jamaican-born star is native to the second city, Montego Bay. Here she lived until she relocated to the United States to better pursue her modelling career. She was the chosen face of Steven Meisel’s first vogue cover for Italian Vogue.

Tami Williams

Jamaican Models | Tami Williams (Photo: fashionmodelindustry.com)

Is one of the youngest models to come out of Jamaica after being discovered in high school by Deiweght Peters at Saint International. So far in her career, she has appeared in advertisements for Calvin Klein, Gucci, Balmain, Valentino, Dolce and Gabanna and Alexander Wang.

She has also made appearances on the runway for Marc Jacobs, Alberta Ferretti, Gucci, Valentino, Hermes, Roberto Cavalli and Lanvin just to name a few. The model from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica currently resides in New York.

Naomi Campbell

Fashion Models | Naomi Campbell (Photo: Vanity Fair)

Lauded as one of the greatest supermodels ever. Naomi Campbell has walked the runway and done campaigns for almost every noteworthy fashion house, photographer and designer in the fashion world. She was born in South London, England and spent most of her younger years in Italy where her mother worked before she returned to England. She appeared in the video for Bob Marley’s song, “Is This Love,” as a tap-dancing 9-year-old.

Her first Vogue cover would come in the December 1987 issue of British Vogue, the first time a black woman had appeared on the cover since 1966. She later appeared on the cover of French Vogue, the first black woman to ever do so.

Campbell was one of six models of her generation, namely Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss to be declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press.

She has worked with Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Diane Von Furstenberg, Prada, Chanel, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Zac Posen, Blumarine, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferré, Versace, Helmut Lang, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Marchesa, Fendi, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Isaac Mizrahi, Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, La Perla, Dennis Basso, Philipp Plein, Mango, Thierry Mugler, Balmain, Nars, Roberto Cavalli, David Yurman, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, DSquared2, Express, H&M, Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Macy's, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Avon, Revlon and Victoria's Secret.

Jamaican models have taken the industry by storm whether Jamaican by birthright or heritage they wave the Jamaican flag proudly just the same.

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References & Sources For Jamaican Models

1. En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Grace Jones - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].
2. En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Stacey McKenzie - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].
3. En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Tami Williams - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].
4. Nast, C., 2022. 5 Jamaican Top Models Who Changed the Face of Fashion. [online] Vogue. Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].
5. Pulse World 360. 2022. Jeneil Williams - Pulse World 360. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].
6. En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Naomi Campbell - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 August 2022].

Jamaican Models | Written: September 02, 2022

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