Iconic fashion model China Machado who went on to become an editor at Harper's Bazaar dies at age 87 from cardiac arrest
Iconic fashion model China Machado passed away on Sunday at the age of 87.
According to Women's Wear Daily, Machado died at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York after suffering from cardiac arrest Thursday night at her home in Connecticut.
Machado - who would have celebrated her 88th birthday on Christmas Day - was the first non-white model to appear on the front cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1959.
Sad: Iconic fashion model China Machado passed away on Sunday after suffering from cardiac arrest Thursday night; she was 87 years old. Here she is seen in 2012
She had the world on a string: The beauty was known for her exotic good looks
The model was born as Noel De Souza Machado in Shanghai China and made her mark in the industry as famed photographer Richard Avedon's muse.
Her work with him led her to front-cover issues, eventually landing her the title of senior fashion editor and fashion director for Harper's Bazaar.
Telling New York Magazine of her risky cover in an October 2016 interview, she said: 'I knew I was considered kind of "exotic," if you want to use that word, in Europe, but it wasn’t any kind of a slur. So when I came here I didn’t know that.'
Trailblazer: She was the first non-white model to appear on the front cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1959
Breaking barriers: Machado was the first non-white model to appear on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1959; photographed here in January for 2012 Sundance Film Festival
'When I went back to Paris, it was then that Dick said that he would not sign his contract for another seven years unless those pictures were published. And he never told that to me until 20 years later,' Machado added.
Shortly up until her death, the IMG model was modeling and designing clothes, including starring in Cole Haan's Born in 1928 campaign in 2013.
Machado was also featured in an exhibition in October titled A Muse Among Friends put together by National Arts Club in New York.
Out on the town: The stunner leaving a dinner party in NYC in 1975
Muse: The Asian model was born as Noel De Souza Machado in Shanghai China and made her mark in the industry as famed photographer Richard Avedon's muse; posing here in March at Barneys New York
The exhibit included photographs and paintings of her by fashion leaders such as Avedon, Bruce Weber, Andy Warhol and Geoffrey Holder.
'I didn’t expect to become a commercial model at the age of 80!' Machado exclaimed.
'But Ivan Bart [IMG’s president] is kind of a humanitarian. He always goes after something different. So he wanted to conquer the age thing and show that women over a certain age could still model,' she added.
Machado is survived by her husband, Ricardo Rosa, daughters Blanche LaSalle and Emmanuelle LaSalle-Hill, and two grandchildren.
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