The 15 most beautiful Black women

Ebony, Oct, 1996 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

ONE is 79. Another is a doctor of education. A third is an internationally known opera star. The rest include a wide spectrum of beauty--the colors of dusk and dawn--and are talented in business and education and as mothers, wives, actresses, and singers of jazz, classical and soul.

All are on the 1996 list of the 15 Most Beautiful Black Women, and all are redefining the meaning of beauty in the modern world. In the process, they are giving new meaning to the ancient Black tradition that says beauty is as beauty does.

Lena Home, Oprah Winfrey, Camille Cosby, Jessye Norman and Vanessa Williams are among the 15 women cited by editors and beauty experts. They are not, of course, the only beautiful Black women, but they were selected as representatives and stand-ins for all Black women. The most varied and totally inclusive group named since the magazine started charting and celebrating Black beauty in 1946 represents a broad spectrum of beauty, ranging from the enduring beauty of Jessye Horne to the august beauty of Jessye Norman and the hip-hop, contemporary "fresh" beauty of TLC's Rhonda (Chilli) Thomas.

Jessye Norman

International diva Jessye Norman's beauty and extraordinary talent have graced the world' most prestigious orchestras, opera companies and music centers. Her stage presence owes as much to the total dignity of African queens and great African-American women as it does to traditional images of opera. One of the most important singers of our times, she was invited by the French government to sing their national anthem at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.

Ophrah Winfrey

The most powerful woman in the entertainment industry is also a reborn Black woman who achieved beauty and her own inner peace after deciding to be herself not only as a talk show host but also as a person. "The fact that I was created a Black woman in this lifetime," she said in an Ebony interview, "everything in my life is built around honoring that. I feel a sense of reverence to that. I hold it sacred."

Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams, the most famous Miss America of all times, triumphed over the adversity of beauty and created a new kind of beauty on the other side of beauty pageants. After the national flap over her Miss America problems, she married Ramon Hervey, became a major singer and movie star, and made her mark on Broadway. She is the devoted mother of three children.

Halle Berry

Although people have said that her beauty is so spectacular that it is almost "unreal," movie star Halle Berry says that real beauty comes from inside. "I'm a big believer in inner beauty," she says. "To me, what makes a woman truly beautiful has little to do with the physical. It's a certain serenity; it's about being confident in yourself and centered in belief. It's about loving who you are and treating others as you want to be treated."

Tyra Banks

Tyra, who can be an elegant fashion model, a swimsuit sensation or the homegirl next door, is now a one-name phenomenon. At age 22, she is the youngest woman on the 1996 list. The supermodel, who is beginning an acting career, is also writing a book on self-esteem.

Whitney Houston

The greatest love of all, the love and appreciation of one's own beauty and worth, has made Whitney Houston an international superstar in both the music and film worlds. Houston married singer Bobby Brown and has a daughter, Bobbi Kristina. She wants to pass on to her daughter the credo her mother instilled in her--"To shine own self be true."

Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson first made Ebony's Most Beautiful List as a teenager. Her bubblegum beauty blossomed into full flower by her 30th birthday earlier this year. Identified for years as the little girl next door, she has projected a more sophisticated image since release of her Control album in 1986. The superstar says the most valuable lesson she ever learned came from her parents: "Always follow your heart and never forget where you came from. Always extend your hand to help others."

Camille Cosby

As a philanthropist, producer, wife, mother, daughter, author and educator, Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby, who has a doctorate in education, has helped to redefine feminity and power. In fact she describes herself as a "self-defining" woman. She once told Oprah Winfrey that "the post-40 period" is a special time in a woman's life. "There will come a time between 40 and 42 when you will really have tired of other people's stuff. You will get very clear about what it is you really want to do, and you won't care what other people think," she said. An ageless beauty, she is the wife of Dr. William H. Cosby Jr. and the mother of five children.

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett has phenomenal range as a woman and as an actress. Critics, who have praised her performances in roles from Bernardine in Waiting to Exhale to Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X, say her smoldering eyes ignite the screen. "Beauty," she has said, "come from your soul, and once you get your soul intact, it just emanates from you."