Luana de Noailles
Luana de Noailles (born November 23, 1949) is a French-Brazilian former model and dancer, active in the 1960s and 1970s. She was the first Brazilian Black female model to gain international recognition, especially in Europe.
Biography
Born in Salvador as Raimunda Nonata do Sacramento into a modest family, she was raised in the Liberdade neighbourhood, known as a center of Afro-Brazilian culture, and attended a Catholic school.[1] She began her modelling career walking in Salvador fashion events and was later recruited at the age of sixteen by scouts who were looking for a model who was ''black like Pelé''.[2] She was hired by the Brazilian subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc, which at the time sponsored fashion events, such as the annual FENIT, and adopted the artistic name Luana. She then traveled through England and moved to São Paulo.[3]
She drew the attention of Paco Rabanne, who invited her to model. She established herself in Italy before moving to Paris, where she built her career working for the fashion houses Dior, Rabanne, Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent.[4][5]
She married Gilles de Noailles. Her wedding dress, designed by André Courrèges, is part of the collection of the Museu Afro Brasil.[6]
References
- ↑ "Conheça Luana de Noailles primeira manequim do Brasil". Instituto da Mulher Negra Geledés (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
- ↑ Martins, Osmar Marrom. "Conheça a baiana do Curuzu que se tornou Condessa na França". Jornal Correio.
- ↑ Correa, Suzamar; Santos, Robson de Souza dos (2012). "Modelo negra e comunicação de moda no Brasil: análise de conteúdo dos anúncios publicados na revista Vogue Brasil". Revista Brasileira de Iniciação Científica em Comunicação Social (in Brazilian Portuguese). 4 (2). ISSN 1980-3494.
- ↑ "DEZ HOMENAGENS A PERSONALIDADES VIVAS NO CARNAVAL". Sambario. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
- ↑ "Muito antes de Naomi: 'Estrela Negra' foi a primeira manequim do Brasil". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
- ↑ Santana, Valdemir. "Brindes para Luana de Noailles, a condessa baiana que mudou o mundo da moda". Tribuna da Bahia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-07-09.