14 October 2023 , 15:29
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Pioneering fashion model and journalist Gail O'Neill has sadly died at the age of 61.
She carved out a glittering career in TV journalism and modelling after being discovered during a flight by photographer and stylist Chuck and Martha Baker, who were also onboard. Since then, she has fronted big ad campaigns for Diet Coke and Avon, and was lauded for being featured in the iconic ‘Black Issue’ of Vogue Italia in 2008, under the leadership of then-editor Franca Sozzani.
Gail previously spoke about her inadvertent foray into modelling, and said she was bullied as a child for being tall and slim. “By the time I was 11 or 12 years old, I was convinced that my tall, skinny frame was some kind of cosmic joke...with me the punchline,”she once said. “Beauty, or a lack of it, was not something I ever thought about as a young child.”
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Gail fronted campaigns for designers including DKNY (Penske Media via Getty Images)
The trailblazing model was discovered in the early 1980s (Penske Media via Getty Images)Her agent was Frances Grill - founder of Click Model - who worked with Gail for years until her death. And just months after signing for the agency, Gail landed the cover of British Vogue. Her career in the 1980s included covers for Glamour and Elle, and she worked with fashion photography icons Patrick Demarchelier, Annie Liebovitz and Steven Meisel. Gail walked the runway for designers including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. She also featured in the 1992 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, wearing an American flag bikini.
Gail was also a part of the Black Girls Coalition, along with Naomi Campbell, which was founded by Iman and Bethann Hardison, and highlighted issues of racism and diversity. By the late 1990s, Gail had moved on to a career in journalism, and became correspondent for The Early Show on NBC, before moving on to work with CNN and HGTV.
Gail then became a successful TV journalist (WireImage)
Gail, seen here in 2016, was lauded for her groundbreaking career (Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)Tributes poured in for the trailblazing model, with Arts ATL executive editor Scott Freeman telling BET: “This is such a huge loss. Gail was a great journalist who cared about her craft, and the people she wrote about. She was a strong ambassador for us in addition to her stellar journalism. She was also a dear friend.”
“Sometimes it felt like she held the city of Atlanta in the palm of her hand; whenever we went to an event together, everyone seemed to know her and wanted to be around her. Gail was special: Humble, vivacious, caring. Simply one of the most incredible people I've ever known,” he recalled.
Other fans took to Twitter, formerly known as X, to post their memories of the model and journalist. “This is incredibly sad to hear about her passing. The beautiful Gail O' Neill is one of my favorite supermodels, ever. God bless her soul for eternity,” one wrote. “Rest in power, Gail O' Neill,” another sombre fan added.