In the modeling world, even as recently as 15 years ago, “being a woman of color was not always the easiest,” says Tomiko Fraser, 41. “People ask if doors were closed to me. I wouldn’t even know. I didn’t get into the buildings to have a shot at getting through the doors.”
The Bronx native’s first break was a fashion layout for Seventeen; in her mid-twenties at the time, she got the gig because she looked young and she kept quiet about her real age. In 1998 she landed a coveted Maybelline contract, becoming the company’s first African-American spokesmodel.
“The business has been good to me,” says Fraser, who married three years ago. “I’ve gotten to travel the world and be a student of life.” For the past decade, Fraser has also worked tirelessly for the Lupus Foundation of America, raising funds to combat the disease that claimed her sister in March after a 12-year struggle.
“Her passing ignited the fire in me even more,” says Fraser, who has also started a female empowerment Web site and group called Goddess Gathering. “I’m doing the things that move me.”
View a slideshow of Tomiko Fraser wearing fall's power fashions.