Catherine Helen Sachs (née Cathee Dahmen; September 16, 1945 – November 25, 1997), was the first Native American

supermodel A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothin ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. She was half

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, half

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and was born and raised in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Modeling career

Dahmen left home at the age of 17 to live with her uncle, artist George Morrison, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. She was discovered in her late teens by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' illustrator Antonio Lopez, who spotted her uncle's portrait of her and was ultimately responsible for her introduction into the fashion industry. Dahmen spent her peak years with

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. History 20th century Eileen and Jerry began the bu ...

, where she was one of the agency's top earners of the 1960s. She appeared on the covers of numerous fashion magazines including, ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'' in 1968 and both UK ''

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'' and ''Italia'' in 1971 She was also associated with the Youthquake movement.

Family

Dahmen grew up in

South Minneapolis Minneapolis is officially defined by its city council as divided into 83 neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are historically grouped into 11 communities. Informally, there are city areas with colloquial labels. Residents may also group themselves ...

, and gave birth to her first child, a daughter who she named Veronica Rose, aged 16 in June 1962. The baby was given up for adoption by Dahmen's mother at eleven months of age. After marrying young British actor

Leonard Whiting Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a British semi-retired actor and singer widely known for his teenage role as Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of ''Romeo and Juliet'', a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for N ...

, Dahmen moved to

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where she continued her career, modeling for Models 1. This marriage produced a daughter in 1972, Sarah Beth Whiting, who died in 2014. Dahmen divorced Whiting in the late 1970s and entered her second marriage to singer

Alan Merrill Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners in Japan to achieve pop star status there. He wrote t ...

(real name Allan Preston Sachs) in 1977, she moved with him to New York from London, in 1980. Dahmen had by then two children with Merrill, daughter Laura Ann Sachs and son Allan Preston Sachs Jr. The couple later divorced and Merrill remarried. Dahmen retired from modeling in 1980s and died in 1997 from

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

. She was survived by her four children.

References

External links

Cathee Dahmen, Antonio Lopez and friends in 1966
New York Times Fashion & Style section {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmen, Cathee 1945 births 1997 deaths Female models from Minnesota American Ojibwe people American people of German descent Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease American female models 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native American people