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Dovima

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Dovima was a famous American fashion model. She lived during the 1950s. Her real name was Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba. She was born in Queens, New York. Dovima was a very special person in her field. She was the first model to use just one name. She made this name from her own. She took the first two letters of her three names.

Her career started in a very sudden way. An editor from Vogue magazine found her on a sidewalk. This happened in New York. The very next day, she had a photo shoot. She worked with a photographer named Irving Penn. Later, she worked closely with Richard Avedon. These artists helped make her a star.

One photo of Dovima is very famous. It is called "Dovima with the Elephants." She took this photo in August 1955. It was at the Cirque d'hiver in Paris. She wore a long black evening gown. This dress was made by Yves Saint-Laurent. He was a new assistant for Christian Dior. The photo sold for $1,151,976 in 2010.

Dovima was a very successful worker. She was known as the "Dollar-a-Minute Girl." She earned $60 every hour. Most top models at that time earned only $25 per hour. She was likely the highest-paid model of her time. Dovima also acted in movies. She played a character named Marion in the film Funny Face.

Life changed a lot for Dovima later on. She had a daughter named Allison in 1958. Allison's father was Allan Murray. Dovima and Murray later divorced. She had little money after the divorce. She tried acting and being an agent in the 1960s. By the 1980s, she lived in Florida. She worked as a hostess at The Two Guys Pizza Parlor. Dovima died of liver cancer in 1990. She was 62 years old.

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