The Work of Tracey “Africa” Norman

Tracey Norman on the Clairol’s Born Beautiful hair color boxes: No. 512, Dark Auburn.

Tracey “Africa” Norman is an internationally known American model who broke barriers for the Black and Black trans community. Her legacy of work, particularly being the face of Clairol's Born Beautiful (1975), continues to redefine the fashion and beauty industry.

• Listen to a full interview with Tracey Norman and Jeffrey Masters on LGBTQ&A, a podcast produced by The Advocate magazine in partnership with GLAAD.
• Buy Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, by C. Riley Snorton, which analyzes the intersection of Black and trans identities through history (Bookshop)

Clockwise, from top left: At a friend’s birthday party, 1994; the face of Clairol, 1975; in 1994; at a friend’s house in 1995; model card, 1991. Photographs: Douglas Says (Top Right), Courtesy of Tracey Norman (Remaining). via The Cut.

Tracey “Africa” Norman is an American fashion model and recognized as the first trans woman to model in the fashion industry. As reported by The Cut, she most notably appeared as the face of Clairol’s Born Beautiful hair color boxes: No. 512, Dark Auburn. Her moment of discovery came after she snuck into a casting in 1975 and was photographed by Irving Penn for Italian Vogue (Vice). Soon after being signed with Zoli agency, she modeled extensively holding an exclusive contract with Avon.

In her most recent interview with the Advocate this month, she clarifies while she understands the attribute, she identifies as a woman:

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“I’ve always identified as being a woman. It was New York Mag and the London Times and Marie Claire that put the word trans and attached it to my name. I understood the publicity for it and the interest that it drummed up, but I made that very clear in every interview that I never identified as trans. I don't have a problem with people using it. I'm just saying that personally, I've never identified with the word trans or being trans. I guess, because of the time difference. And I didn't grow up around gay people. I only had women around me. I watched how they talked, conversed with each other, how they walked, how they sat. I was just enthralled with the femininity of a woman and that's what I wanted to be”.

Tracey Norman for The Advocate

Everything changed for Norman in 1980 on the set for Essence magazine. Norman recalls the photoshoot abruptly ending as a result of her being outed, and her work stopped the very next day. Norman's feature in The Cut shared how she worked in sales, at a burlesque club, and how she became involved with drag-ball culture -- joining the House of Africa and becoming the Mother (She was inducted in the Ballroom Hall of Fame in 2001).

The feature prompted Clairol to re-sign Norman as a model, nudging the world to give her due flowers as a trailblazer (The Cut).

I have learned over the years that anybody of color who is a trailblazer — and I fall into that category — are the ones that pay the price for other people to benefit from, or to continue the fight. I started realizing that after Martin Luther King. They assassinated him. He was a trailblazer. There are other people that were trailblazers in the art who were blacklisted, like Nina Simone, that were trailblazers in their craft and got destroyed because of their skin color and their beliefs. But they were all trailblazers and they left a door for somebody to follow through.”

Tracey Norman in The Advocate

Reflection Questions

• Tracey Norman expresses how her mother was a strong supporter of her work throughout the years. How can you honor and celebrate your own children –and/or the children in your life–to help affirm and celebrate their lived experience? You can do this as a grownup or a kid!
• Consider the courage and bravery it might take to be the first. Consider: how can you ensure that you are not the last person to have the same opportunities that you've had?
• Norman mentions that being a trailblazer often means "paying the price" for others to continue the fight. Who are the trailblazers that inspire you today? How do you think you can "trailblaze" for others like you?

Learn More

• A storyline in the show Pose was inspired by an instance of rejection that Tracey Norman experienced by Playboy and The Oprah Winfrey Show (Out Magazine).
• Laverne Cox paid tribute to Tracey Africa as well as other Black women like Leotyne Price, Tina Turner, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson and Josephine Baker (Cosmopolitan).
• Book Recommendation: Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton (2017).
• WATCH: Carol Jenkins sits down with Tracey Norman (YouTube).