#AerieReal campaign, 2014 (The Huffington Post)
American Eagle’s underwear brand Aerie launched its Aerie Real campaign in January 2014. The campaign, photographed by John Urbano and targeted to teens and women and in their 20s, did away with traditional models (read: skinny, unblemished) and began using “real” women, unretouched in all their glory.
Whoopi Goldberg at the Oscars, 1991 (Leosigh)
Actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for “Ghost,” the seminal Patrick Swayze movie where his character dies and comes back as, you guessed it, a ghost. (Shocker, right?) Goldberg played Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who helps Swayze’s character.
Goldberg won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the movie a the 63rd Annual Academy Awards in 1991. This was her second Oscar nomination: Goldberg had previously been nominated for Best Actress in 1986’s “The Color Purple.”
Until the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced, Goldberg was the only Black actress to be nominated for an Oscar twice. Now there’s a new record: Powerhouse actress Viola Davis received a nomination for her work in “Fences,” and she is now the only Black actress to be nominated three times for an Oscar. Davis had previously been nominated in 2009 for “Doubt” and in 2012 for “The Help.”
Beyonce and Solange at Coachella, 2014 (Global Music Tribune)
Solange performed a set at Coachella in 2014. While singing “Losing You,” off her EP “True,” Beyonce joined her little sister onstage to dance to the song.
Beyonce will be headlining Coachella on Saturday, Apr. 15th and 22nd.
Debbie Allen at the Golden Globes, 1983 (YouTube)
Way back in 1983 (34 years ago!), actress-choreographer Debbie Allen won the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical or Comedy Actress. Allen starred in “Fame,” the TV series based off the 1980 movie.
She was the only Black woman to win this award until “Blackish” actress Tracee Ellis Ross (yes, Diana Ross’s daughter) won earlier this week during the
Elizabeth Taylor as ‘Cleopatra,’ 1963 (First To Know)
In her heyday, Elizabeth Taylor was a lot of things: raven-haired beauty, husband-stealing vixen, condemned by the Vatican. Oh yeah, she was also an actress. A very good one.
It’s well known that Taylor played the title role in 1963’s “Cleopatra.” But one important aspect of the production is less well-known than it should be: Taylor earned $1M for her role. She was the first actress to be paid that amount for her work.
Due to production delays, that $1M would eventually become $7M. In 2015 currency, that’s $54.2M.
Hillary Rodham in ‘Life’ magazine, 1969 (Iowa Public Radio)
Hillary Clinton became nationally known early on, when she was still a college student. In 1969, she was elected to be Wellesley College’s first student commencement speaker at graduation. During her speech, Clinton (then known as Hillary Rodham, her maiden name) addressed remarks made by Massachusetts Republican Senator Edward W. Brooke, who’d previously spoken about the rise of student protests on university campuses. Rodham Clinton then spoke off the cuff in favor of the protests, reasoning that they had a place in public discourse.
Later, she was featured in a Life magazine spread called, “The Class of ’69,” with her commencement speech reprinted. Clinton was also photographed lounging at the Rodham family home.
Richard and Mildred Loving, ‘The Loving Story’ (Documentary Daze)
Documentary “The Loving Story” was released in 2011, and examined the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving. An interracial couple from Virginia, they were arrested for violating Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law shortly after their wedding in 1958. The film examines their struggle to remain married and able to live in Virginia, which led to the historic Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision of 1967.
The film was directed by Nancy Buirski, premiered in 2012, and won a Peabody Award.
Solange, ‘True’ (The Jewel Wicker Show)
It’s no secret I’m a fan of Beyonce. I’ve seen her three times in concert (The Mrs. Carter Tour 2013, On the Run 2014, and Formation 2016) because I think she’s one of the performers we’ll tell our grandkids about.
I also really like Solange, Beyonce’s sister. And the release of her new album “A Seat at the Table has led me to revisit “True,” her 2012 EP. The above still is from her song of the same name, which Solange filmed in Cape Town, South Africa with members of Les Sape Society. The entire video is beautiful, so definitely watch it if you haven’t yet. The EP’s excellent, too.
Kim Kardashian West, ‘Paper’ magazine 2014 (People)
Remember when Kim Kardashian West broke the Internet? This was (not so far) back in 2014. She posed for Paper magazine. Cover shot: see above. Inside, the magazine featured shots of Kardashian West imitating a more famous photo and posing completely nude save for strands of her pearl choker (not a sexual metaphor).
Kardashian West didn’t get paid for her Paper photo shoot.
Though this wasn’t the first time Kardashian West posed nude, it was the time that everyone couldn’t stop talking about.
Lucy Lawless in “Xena: Warrior Princess” (Beyond The Marquee)
Who remembers this show? Originally a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess quickly made a mark of its own. Lucy Lawless starred as the titular character, a warrior princess (obviously) who travels around the world throughout various civilizations to redeem her destructive past. Her friend Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) often accompanies her in her adventures.
The TV series ran from 1995 to 2001, and ranked in the top five shows for ratings each year. It’s now seen as a major cult show. A rebooted series was announced in 2015; no word on who’ll take over the role of Xena.
Sex & Stats: Where Numbers Come to Bang 