What is Beverly Johnson's Net Worth?
Beverly Johnson is an American model, singer, writer, and actress who has a net worth of $5 million. Beverly Johnson is best known for changing the world of modeling when she became the first African American cover model to appear on the cover of American Vogue. From modeling to recording an album, acting on television and the big screen to penning books and performing off-Broadway, Beverly had made places for herself – and opened the doors for other women of color – in all areas of entertainment.
Early Years
Beverly Johnson was born on October 13, 1952, in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of surgical technician Gloria Johnson. Beverly attended Bennett High School in Buffalo and was an award-winning swimmer. After graduating in 1969, she enrolled at Northeastern University—a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts—and majored in criminal justice on her path to becoming an attorney.
Modeling
Beverly Johnson's path toward a career in law was diverted after she took on a modeling job while on a break from school in 1971. The job led her to a host of offers from hundreds of magazines such as Glamour and Vogue. During the summer of 1974, she became the first African American model to appear on the cover of the United States version of Vogue.
Writing
In 1981, Beverly Johnson wrote "Beverly Johnson's Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty," a book in which she shares her beauty and exercise secrets, outlining her daily exercise plan for overall body conditioning. The book also contains suggestions concerning herbal diet remedies and thoughtful approaches to skin and hair care, nutrition, and the use of natural products.
Beverly wrote her second book, "True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color" in 1994. Within its pages, the book reveals Beverly's nutrition, exercise and beauty secrets as well as a detailed program designed for stress reduction.
In 2014, Beverly penned an article for the American magazine "Vanity Fair" titled "Bill Cosby Drugged Me: This is My Story." In the article, she accuses Cosby of slipping a drug into her coffee and angrily dragging her outside when she realized what was happening and began to scream. Cosby later brought a defamation lawsuit against her, which he dropped in 2016.
In 2015, Beverly released her memoir "The Face That Changed It All."
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Acting in Film
Beverly Johnson first appeared on movie screens in the 1975 thriller "Deadly Hero," which starred American actors Don Murray and James Earl Jones. She played bit parts in "The Baron" in 1977 and the television movie "Crisis in Sun Valley" in 1978 before claiming the role of Dr. Anansa Linderby in the 1979 film "Ashanti" which focuses on modern-day slave-trading. In 1993, she played Doris Liger in the American parody film "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I" and a physician in the superhero comedy film "The Meteor Man" as well as roles in the television movies "The Cover Girl Murders" and "A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives."
In 1996, she played The Queen in the science fiction film "Crossworlds" and appeared in the 1997 American sex comedy "Def Jam's How to be a Player." In 1997, she was cast as Lieutenant Kada Wilson in the action film "True Vengeance." The following year, she appeared in the dramatic film "54," which focused on the rise and fall of the famous New York nightclub Studio 54.
In 2002, Beverly played the mother of a main character in the Britney Spears teen road comedy "Crossroads," and in 2012, she played the role of Brenda in the romantic drama "Good Deeds," starring Tyler Perry.
Television Appearances
Beverly Johnson appeared as herself in a 1979 episode of the television series "The American Sportsman," as well as on a 1989 episode of the live late-night sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" and a 1992 episode of "Showtime at the Apollo." Other shows in which she appeared as herself include "An Evening at the Improv" and the sitcom "The Mommies" in 1994, an episode of the sketch comedy series "Mad TV" in 1995, an episode of the dark comedy series "Arliss" in 1996 and "E! True Hollywood Story" in 1997 and 2005. She also appeared on the sitcom "Girlfriends" in 2004, as a recurring guest on the reality television series "America's Next Top Model" from 2005 to 20212, as a judge on the reality series "She's Got the Look" from 2008 to 2010, in a 2011 episode of the reality series "RuPaul's Drag U," in the 2012 reality documentary series "Beverly's Full House, in a 2013 episode of the paranormal reality series "Celebrity Ghost Stories" and on two episodes of "American Style" in 2019.
In 1990, Beverly played Allistar Lang on one episode of the crime drama series "Hunter." In 1992, she played Salamotu on an episode of Law & Order. The following year, she returned to "Law & Order" to play Marcela Di Portago and also appeared on the sitcom "Martin" as Ms. Trinidad and on the sitcom "Out All Night" as Lorraine.
She portrayed Mrs. Cox in season one of the American superhero drama series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" in 1994, Miss Kita in the sitcom series "The Wayans Bros." in 1995, and Mrs. Jordan in the sitcom series "The Parent Hood" in 1996. That same year, she portrayed Lorri in the erotic drama anthology series "Red Shoe Diaries."
In 1997, Beverly played a fashion director on the fantasy sitcom "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and, the following year, played Prell in an episode of the sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun." In the American sitcom "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," she played the character of Kate in two episodes.
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Music
Beverly Johnson released her funk/soul/country album "Don't Lose the Feeling" on the Buddah label in 1979. The album included the songs "Don't Run For Cover," "Under My Thumb," and "Gonna Tell Your Momma on You."
Off-Broadway
In 2024, Beverly Johnson performed in the one-woman off-Broadway show "Beverly Johnson: In Vogue," sharing her personal experiences in fashion and entertainment.
Accolades
On Women's Entrepreneurship Day in 2022, Beverly Johnson was honored with the Model Pioneer Award for changing the face of modeling and having an impact on the world.
Personal Life
Beverly Johnson married real estate agent Billy Potter in 1971. They divorced in 1974. She then married music producer Danny Sims in 1977. They divorced in 1979. Her third marriage was to Brian Maillian—CEO of Whitestone Global Partners LLC—on January 3, 2023. With her ex-husband, Danny Sims, she has a daughter, Anansa, who was born in 1978.
