# Iman (Iimaan Maxamed Cabdulmajiid)

> Iman, born 1955 in Mogadishu: supermodel, actress, founder of Iman Cosmetics (1994) and CARE Global Advocate.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/iman/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Iman is a Somali-American model, actress and businesswoman. Wikipedia describes her as one of the world's best-known models since her first work in the 1970s ([Wikipedia, Iman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))). She founded her own cosmetics company and works for charity (same source).

## Early life

She was born Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid on 25 July 1955 in Mogadishu. Her grandfather urged the name Iman, Arabic for "faith" ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))). Her father was a diplomat who served as Somalia's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and her mother was a gynaecologist ([Biography.com, Iman](https://www.biography.com/celebrities/iman)).

At four she was sent to boarding school in Egypt. Later the family moved to Kenya, and she studied political science at the University of Nairobi ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))).

## Modelling

While she was a student in Nairobi, the American photographer Peter Beard met her. She moved to the United States, and her first assignment was for *Vogue* in 1976 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))). In 1977 she starred in Revlon's first campaign built around black women (same source). She worked with designers such as Halston, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein and Yves Saint Laurent.

She has said her looks are simply typically Somali ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))).

## Film and business

She acted in films including *Out of Africa* (1985) and *Exit to Eden* (1994) ([Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/celebrities/iman)). In 1994 she started Iman Cosmetics, making shades for women whose skin tones were hard to match ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))).

## Charity

Since September 2019 she has been CARE's first Global Advocate, working against poverty ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))). She is also a spokesperson for the Keep a Child Alive programme and works with the Children's Defense Fund (same source).

## Family

She was married to the British musician David Bowie from 1992 until his death in 2016 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_(model))).

## In short

A fashion model from Mogadishu who first worked for *Vogue* in 1976, acted in films, founded Iman Cosmetics in 1994 and became CARE's first Global Advocate in 2019.

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