Born in Brooklyn, NY at some point between 1952 and 1957 (the date was much contested among sources, including Dickinson herself), the statuesque teenager began modeling shortly after graduating high school. Her Eastern European looks were in direct contrast to the well-scrubbed, all-American models who were populating print and media advertising and modeling, but the Wilhelmina Agency took a risk on her that paid off. Dickinson rose quickly among the international modeling ranks, and by the mid-1970s, had graced the cover of numerous major magazines, including Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Playboy, and became the face of Versace’s perfume line. Dickinson would later lay claim to inventing the term “supermodel” to describe her status in the fashion world, though it was noted that the word was first applied to British icons Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy in the previous decade.

During her modeling heyday, Dickinson also developed a fierce reputation as a party girl without peer; frequently running with the Warhol crowd at Studio 54 and reportedly dating the top bachelors in Hollywood at that time, including the playboy trifecta of Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Mick Jagger. By the early ‘80s she had signed with John Casablanca’s Elite Modeling Agency, and continued to ride the upper echelon of the fashion game. The position was not without its horror stories, though; Dickinson’s close friend, model Gia Caragi, would later die of AIDS brought on by a tragic heroin habit, and Dickinson herself struggled with substance abuse problems.

As the ‘80s drew to a close, Dickinson relocated to Europe for work and a romantic relationship, but she soon soured on the continent and returned to America to seek some stability in her life. However, the stateside fashion scene had changed in her absence – the idea of a “supermodel” had permeated popular culture, and newer, more physically “perfect” models such as Cindy Crawford were pulling down six-figure salaries for their work. Dickinson attempted to counter the shift in tone and taste by pursuing an acting career, but she found few takers. She did, however, find love with producer Simon Fields (best known for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” feature series), with whom she had a son, Nathan. The marriage lasted until 1993.

Dickinson married again after having her second child, daughter Savannah (then-boyfriend Sylvester Stallone was rumored to be the father until a paternity test revealed it to be producer Michael Birnbaum), but the union proved ill-fated as well. Husband Albert Gerston came with his own set of drug problems, which resulted in a car crash that left Dickinson hospitalized for four months. The pair separated, and Dickinson got sober soon after the divorce.

The self-proclaimed “original supermodel” returned to the public eye armed with equal parts determination and vengeance with the publication of her 2004 memoir No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World’s First Supermodel, which detailed in frank terms the high and low points of her extravagant life, including the revelation that she and her sister had been sexually abused by their father. The book was soon followed by a second, Everything About Me Is Fake -- And I’m Perfect, which served as a tell-all for her numerous plastic surgeries and the modeling industry’s overwhelming drive for physical perfection at all costs. Both books earmarked Dickinson as a woman unafraid to speak her mind, and naturally, television came calling to tap her outlandish energy.

She was cast as a celebrity judge for the UPN reality series “America’s Top Model” (2003- ) and lasted four seasons, during which she locked horns with fellow judge and former model Kimora Lee Simmons. Dickinson was replaced by another top ex-model, Twiggy, at the beginning of the show’s fifth “cycle,” but returned that same season as a guest photographer and again in the sixth cycle as an advisor. In typical fashion, Dickinson did not hold her tongue with the media in regard to her opinions about the show, its producers, and contestants, which undoubtedly extended her stay with the program and did wonders for its publicity.

In 2005, Dickinson again blazed across the small screen as a contestant on the dire C-lister celebrity reality show “The Surreal Life” (VH1, 2003- ), in which she fought bitterly with Omarosa Manigault of “The Apprentice” fame and reserved no small amount of bile for fellow contestant and model Caprice. Dickinson and Manigault’s feuds were the highlights/low lights of the season, with Manigault labeling Dickinson a “crackhead,” and Dickinson brandishing a knife uncomfortably close to Manigault’s head. To her credit, Dickinson admitted that she participated in the show strictly to pay for her daughter’s private school tuition.