Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba (December 11, 1927 – May 3, 1990), known professionally as Dovima, was an American supermodel during the 1950s.

Biography

Dovima was born Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

to Stanley Juba, a Polish-American policeman who was born to Jewish parents; and Margaret J. "Peggy" Horan, who was born in Ireland. She had a younger brother, Stanley Jr. The name "Dovima" is composed of the first two letters of her three given names. She was the first model to use a single name. Dovima was discovered on a sidewalk in New York by an editor at ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', and had a photo shoot with

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Iss ...

the following day. Throughout her career she worked closely with

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

, whose photograph of her in a floor-length black evening gown with circus elephants—''Dovima with the Elephants''—taken at the

Cirque d'hiver The Cirque d'Hiver ("Winter Circus"), located at 110 rue Amelot (at the juncture of the rue des Filles Calvaires and rue Amelot, Paris 11ème), has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musical concerts, and other events, i ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, in August 1955, became an icon and sold for $1,151,976 in 2010. The gown was the first evening dress designed for

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses ...

by his new assistant, Yves Saint-Laurent. Dovima was reputed to be the highest-paid model of her time, demanding $60 per hour when most of the top models were receiving only around $25 per hour. She became known as the "Dollar-a-Minute Girl." She had a minor role as Marion ''

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...

''. The character was aristocratic-looking but empty-headed fashion model with a Jackson Heights whine. Dovima gave birth to a daughter named Allison on July 14, 1958, in Manhattan. Allison's father was Dovima's second husband, Allan Murray. Dovima was left penniless when her marriage to Murray ended in divorce. Throughout the 1960's, she first tried acting then attempted working as an agent but found little success. Eventually, by the 1970's, she had moved in with her parents in Florida, and was working as a hostess at The Two Guys Pizza Parlor in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

by the 1980's. She died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

on May 3, 1990 at the age of 62.

Filmography

* '' Kraft Suspense Theatre'' as Mrs. Aline Parmenter (1 episode, 1964) * ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'' as Mrs. Karda (1 episode, 1964) * ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'' as Model (1 episode, 1964) * ''

'' (1957) as Marion

References

External links

*
Dovima bio
(archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dovima 1927 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City Female models from New York (state) American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from liver cancer

Biography

Filmography

See also

References

External links