Janice Dickinson | |
|---|---|
 Dickinson in 2014 | |
| Born | (1955-02-16)February 16, 1955 (age 71) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Television | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Debbie Dickinson (sister) |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
| Hair color | Dark brown[1] |
| Eye color | Brown[1] |
Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 16, 1955) is an American model, television personality, and businesswoman. One of the most successful models of the 1970s and 1980s, she also served as a judge on four cycles of the reality seriesAmerica's Next Top Model (2003–2006). Dickinson opened amodeling agency in 2005 which was documented on the reality seriesThe Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (2006–2008).
In 2007, Dickinson was a contestant on theseventh series of the British television showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where she finished as runner-up. In 2008, she starred on the reality seriesJanice & Abbey, alongside British modelAbbey Clancy. In 2010, Dickinson appeared on thefourth series ofCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and in 2015, she appeared onCelebrity Big Brother 16.
Dickinson has released three autobiographical books:No Lifeguard on Duty (2002),Everything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect (2004), andCheck Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006).
Dickinson was the second daughter to Jennie Marie (née Pietrzykowski) and Samuel Ray Dickinson.[2] Her mother was of Polish descent and her father was of Irish descent.[2]
She was raised inHollywood, Florida with her elder sister, Alexis, who became a real estate agent, and her younger sister,Debbie, who also became a model.[3][4]
Dickinson has been open about the emotional and physical abuse she suffered as a child and teenager,[5][3][6] and how her father used tosexually abuse one of her sisters. Speaking of her childhood with her "rageoholicpedophile" of a father, Dickinson stated, "Because I wouldn't give in and let him have sex with me, I was verbally and physically abused on a daily basis. I was told that I looked like a boy and wouldn't amount to anything."[6]
In the early 1970s, Dickinson moved to New York City to pursue work as a model after winning a national competition called "Miss High Fashion Model."[4][7] At a time when blue-eyed blondes dominated the fashion scene,[8] Dickinson was turned down several times by modeling agents, includingEileen Ford, who informed Dickinson she was "much too ethnic. You'll never work."[7]
She was discovered by thefashion photographer Jacques Silberstein when his girlfriend, actressLorraine Bracco, mentioned she liked Dickinson's look.[9][10]Wilhelmina Cooper became Dickinson's first agent. Her modeling pursuits led her to Paris, France, where her "exotic looks" secured her reputation within the European fashion industry.[7]
She returned to New York City in 1978, and spent the next several years working steadily, earning $2,000 per day, nearly four times the standard rate.[7] Dickinson eventually signed withFord Models to land a majorad campaign for a newJVC camera.[11] Dickinson, who had not forgotten Ford's initial rejection, was intent on revenge.[11] She soon orchastrated some twenty Ford models to defect to John Casablancas's upstartElite Model Management.[12]
By the 1980s, Dickinson was considered asupermodel, as she "possessed the kind of name and face recognition" that the majority of women in the modeling industry strive to achieve.[4] She appeared within and on covers of magazines includingHarper's Bazaar,Cosmopolitan,Photo,Vogue,Marie Claire, andPlayboy, and worked with some of fashion's best-known names, includingBill Blass,Gianni Versace,Valentino Garavani,Azzedine Alaïa,Pino Lancetti,Halston,Oscar de la Renta andCalvin Klein.[13] She has appeared on the cover ofVogue (International editions only) 37 times.[3] She was seen on the cover ofElle seven times in a row and has been the face of ad campaigns for brands includingRevlon,Alberto VO5,Balmain,Obao,Christian Dior,Clairol,Hush Puppies,Orbit gum,Max Factor,Virginia Slims, andCutex.[8][13]
Dickinson looked for ways to sustain her relevance within the fashion industry as she aged, becoming a fashion photographer. In 2008, she launched her ownjewelry line onHSN.[14]
In 2009, Dickinson recorded a song entitled "Crazy", which was written and produced by Craig Taylor.[15]
In 2003, Dickinson returned to media attention with her position as a judge on the reality television seriesAmerica's Next Top Model. She was hired after producerTyra Banks readNo Lifeguard On Duty and realized that Dickinson could offer the contestants advice on the perils of thefashion industry. As a panelist, Dickinson became known for her wit and incisive, brutally honest critiques.[16]
Dickinson frequently quarreled with her fellow judges, particularlyKimora Lee Simmons andNolé Marin.[17] A recurring source of tension between Dickinson and Banks was mainly concerningplus-size models.[18]
After four cycles, Banks fired Dickinson, replacing her withTwiggy. Dickinson was hurt by the decision. "I was just telling the truth and I was saving these girls from going out there and being told that they're too short, too fat, their skin's not good enough," she said. "I was to America's Next Top Model whatSimon Cowell is toAmerican Idol."[19] Despite this, Dickinson made guest appearances on the following three cycles: As the photographer for a photo challenge in cycle 5, in a mentor role in cycle 6, and as the interviewee for an interview challenge in cycle 7. In 2005, Dickinson was a cast member onThe Surreal Life during its fifth season. She was confronted by castmateOmarosa Manigault during a publicity photo shoot while Dickinson was posing with a prop knife. After being physically separated byBronson Pinchot the two continued to feud throughout the series.[3][20][21]
In 2006, Dickinson starred in her own reality show,The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, for theOxygen cable-television channel. The program, which ran for four seasons, documented Dickinson launching a new career as a modeling agent. She appeared with British modelAbigail Clancy inBeauty & The Best, a reality series detailing Clancy's attempt to break into the American modeling market. The show debuted in the United Kingdom onLiving on May 14, 2007, and premiered in the U.S. on Oxygen on February 19, 2008.[22]
In November 2007, Dickinson became one of the celebrities taking part in the British reality television showI'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. She set the record for mostBushtucker trials, competing ten times in a row. In the finale of the series, it was announced that Dickinson had gained second place in the competition, withChristopher Biggins coming first.[citation needed]
Dickinson was also a contestant for season two of the American version ofI'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which began airing in June 2009.[23] She was eliminated from the show on June 18, 2009.
In 2009, Dickinson was a guest judge on theFinnish version of theTop Model franchise. She created controversy after the claimed effects of accidentally mixing a sleeping aid with champagne caused her to fall down a flight of stairs and burst out at the models. Dickinson was taken to a hospital where she was told she had no visible injuries. She later apologized to the models during the show's airing.[24]
Other guest appearances include "Still Charmed and Kicking", an episode ofCharmed. Dickinson made a cameo appearance inDarren Hayes's music video "On the Verge of Something Wonderful". In 2010, Dickinson appeared on the celebrity edition of British dinner-party contestCome Dine with Me, on which she frequently butted heads with formerPage 3 GirlSamantha Fox over her glamour modeling career, and flirted withCalum Best.[25]
Dickinson appeared in thefourth season ofCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which premiered in December 2010.[26] In 2011, she guest-starred in an episode of90210 (titled "Project Runway").[27]
In August 2015, Dickinson was a housemate on thesixteenth season of the British reality show,Celebrity Big Brother. She became the seventh celebrity to be evicted from the house, just two days before the final.[28]
In 2020, Dickinson appeared on season 24 of The Bachelor.
In 2023, she appeared onI'm a Celebrity... South Africa, which acted as an all-star series for the UK version of the show, but had to withdraw from the show on day 11 after she suffered a head injury, which required her being taken to hospital.[29] Despite this, she still finished in 10th place out of 15 contestants. In September 2025, it was reported that she had sued ITV over the fall and injuries sustained.[30]
Dickinson has been married four times. Her former husbands are Ron Levy,[3][31] Simon Fields,[3] and Alan B. Gersten.[3] She has a son, Nathan, and a daughter, Savannah.[3] Dickinson was having an affair withSylvester Stallone when Savannah was born in 1994, and it was reported that Stallone was the father.[32] Their relationship ended when DNA tests proved he was not the father.[33] In her books and in interviews, she has discussed her numerous sexual relationships with male and female celebrities.[34] In 2012, she announced she was engaged to Dr. Robert Gerner ("Rocky"),[35] a psychiatrist[36][37] whom she married in December 2016.[38]
In November 2014, Dickinson joined a number of women accusing comedianBill Cosby of rape, alleging that Cosby raped her in 1982. Dickinson said that she tried to write about this in her 2002 autobiography, but Cosby and his lawyers pressured her and her lawyers to remove the details.[39]
In March 2016, it was revealed that Dickinson had been diagnosed withbreast cancer.[40]
Dickinson released a memoir detailing her "wild days" as a supermodel. TitledNo Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel (2002), the book was effective in introducing her to a new generation.[4] Her 2004 follow-up memoir wasEverything About Me Is Fake… And I'm Perfect,[4][41] in which she describes her life in modeling; her experience withplastic surgery; and her battles withanorexia,bulimia, andalcoholism.[41] Her next memoir,Check Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating (2006), discusses the men in her life, and prescribes her rules for dating.[42]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Exposed | Model | |
| 1998 | Buddy Faro | Evelyn Maynard | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Charmed | Paige #2 | Episode: "Still Charmed and Kicking" |
| 2005 | Wassup Rockers | Beverly Hills Actress | Cameo appearance |
| 2021 | Pink Rehabilitation | Dr. Janice |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2006 | America's Next Top Model | Judge | |
| 2004 | Rock Me Baby | Herself | Episode: "Look Who's Talking" |
| 2005 | The Surreal Life | Herself | Season 5 |
| 2005–2006 | The Tyra Banks Show | Herself | 10 episodes |
| 2006 | Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2006–2008 | The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency | Herself | |
| 2007 | Janice & Abbey | Herself | Main role |
| 2007 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (UK) | Participant | Series 7, runner-up |
| 2009 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (US) | Participant | Season 2 |
| 2010 | Finland’s Next Top Model | Guest judge | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Come Dine with Me | Herself | Celebrity edition episode |
| 2010 | 8 Out of 10 Cats | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Loose Women | Herself | Guest panellist; 2 episodes |
| 2010–2011 | Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew | Herself | |
| 2011 | Celebrity Juice | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model | Guest judge | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Sweden's Next Top Model | Guest judge | |
| 2012 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Guest judge | 1 episode |
| 2014, 2016 | Botched | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Celebrity Big Brother 16 | Contestant | Series 16, 7th place |
| 2015 | Couples Therapy | Herself | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | The Face Thailand | Guest judge | 1 episode |
| 2020 | The Bachelor | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2023 | I'm a Celebrity... South Africa | Participant | 11 episodes (withdrew) |
She has two teenaged children, a son, Nathan, and a daughter, Savannah.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
