Sims' son Bob Findlay tells The New York Times that she died Saturday of cancer in Newark, N.J.
Sims attained success at the same time that the Black is Beautiful movement was taking hold. She is sometimes said to have been the first black supermodel.
When agencies said her skin was too dark for a career in modeling, Sims approached photographers directly. Before long, she was modeling for top designers. The Ladies' Home Journal cover came in 1968.
Sims gave up modeling after five years and launched her own wig-making business geared toward black women. It later became a multimillion-dollar beauty company.
Get Action News on your website
