Getty Images
Renaud White, the first African-American to appear on the cover of GQ in 1979, has died at the age of 80. people Magazine reports.
White’s longtime friend, Jeffrey Banks, Instagram On June 27, he wrote: “It is with great sadness that I announce that my dearest friend and business colleague, Renaud White, passed away yesterday. Renaud supported me ever since I began modelling, and was always the perfect gentleman and a wonderful ambassador for my brand. When he was first introduced to my mother, she immediately described him as her ‘brother’. I wished that was the only time I could have been. I will miss our conversations and time together, but I will always remember the barriers you broke in the fashion industry and the love we shared as trusted friends. Goodnight, my prince. May the angels sing you to sleep in peace.”
The cause of death has not been revealed.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, White was a popular Zoli model and the second black man to appear on the cover of GQ (after Swiss model Urs Althaus in 1977).
White took a break from modelling to star as William Reynolds in the long-running soap opera Guiding Light (1986-1992).
He also played a priest in the TV movie Gun Hill (2014) and appeared in the TV series Central Park (2017).
In 2011 he interview“I wanted to make a change. I really protested to the establishment, asking why there weren’t more images of black men. At first I thought I would be thrown in jail and beaten up for the way I did things. But then they realized they were wrong, out of step with the times and out of step with society, and they had no choice but to listen to me.”