Ophelia DeVore, Fashion Entrepreneur

ca. 1940s

DeVore created new opportunities for Black models in the fashion industry.

Ophelia DeVore (1922-2014) was an influential model, fashion agent, and charm-school director.

In 1946, she and four friends established Grace Del Marco Agency, a fashion agency. By 1948, DeVore had become sole owner, renaming the business the Ophelia DeVore School of Self-Development and Modeling. It soon became America’s leading African American modeling agency, representing models like Diahann Carrol, Richard Roundtree, and Cicely Tyson.

Around 1955, DeVore and actor Ralph Cooper established the popular television program, Spotlight on Harlem, which showcased models of color and helped expand American beauty standards.