In Her 70s, Beverly Johnson’s Diet: Cocaine, Two Eggs, and a Bowl of Brown Rice.

Renowned supermodel Beverly Johnson resorted to extreme measures to stay slender during the peak of her career. In a recent conversation with PageSix, the 71-year-old model and actress disclosed her struggle with cocaine addiction in the 1970s, which she turned to in order to maintain her slim physique. Johnson, the pioneering first Black woman to grace the cover of Vogue in 1974, admitted that she limited her food intake to just a weekly consumption of a bowl of rice and two eggs, driven by the appetite-suppressing effects of the drug.

“We were under the impression that cocaine wasn’t habit-forming. We were unaware of its addictive nature. In that era, many people dabbled in drugs, but among models, cocaine was a choice because we were striving to avoid eating,” Johnson clarified. “I can recall consuming merely two eggs and a bowl of brown rice per week. There were moments when I’d be trembling in a taxi, and I’d ask the driver to stop because I needed to buy a bag of M&Ms.”

At times, Johnson would experience episodes of shakiness due to her unhealthy eating habits. “We simply didn’t eat, and whenever you arrived at work, they’d commend you with phrases like ‘Yes! You’re so chiseled, girl! Yes!’ – like they were praising you. The truth was rarely told,” she recounted.

The iconic model, who graced Sergio Hudson’s 2022 NYC Fashion Week show, acknowledged that she might have descended into a troubling path if it hadn’t been for her mother, who noticed her visibly emaciated appearance. According to Johnson, her mother placed her in front of a three-way mirror, and the reflection startled her.

“For the first time, I saw my bones staring back at me,” the runway legend admitted. “It served as a significant wake-up call for me.” Currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of her Vogue cover, Johnson has been free from addiction for over 50 years.