Tracey Africa Norman worked as a model in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Discovered by Irving Penn and Italian Vogue, she was featured on packaging for Clairol’s “Born Beautiful” hair dye and in the pages of Essence, before she was outed as transgender and her career was abruptly cut short.
Several months ago, New York magazine’s The Cut shared Norman’s story with the world – which has now led to Clairol’s hiring Norman to model for its “Nice n’Easy” line, in full knowledge of her identity as a trans woman.
Norman says that she’s getting used to her return to the limelight. “I’ve lived my life privately and as a woman, and now I’m being labeled as transgender,” says Tracey, “so it’s something that I have to get used to mentally with the labeling part, but it’s still exciting.”