By Hollywood standards, Iman and David Bowie defied the odds.
The Somali supermodel and the British rock star got married in 1992. They welcomed a daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones, in 2000, and they stayed happily married for 24 years. Sadly, after a private 18-month battle with cancer, Bowie died in January at age 69. In an interview taped prior to her husband death for a recent episode of OWN’s Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Iman opened up about the man she knew and loved. “People say, ‘Do you give him fashion tips?’ What are you, crazy?” she said with a laugh. “We’re talking about David Bowie. He is fashion!”
Bowie was an icon, sure, but “We both understand the difference between the person and the persona,” she said. “When we are home, we are just Iman and David. We’re not anybody else.”
Iman said the secret to their “lasting marriage” was timing.
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“You have to be at the right time your life that you’re ready for an everlasting relationship, that it becomes a first priority in your life. If your career is important to you, don’t get married and have children, because something will give. I know as women we want to be able to have it all, but we can’t have it all at the same time. So, make your priority of what you want at that time. Sometimes you don’t even have to get married,” she said. “Why do you have to get married?”
In the episode, Iman also discussed how a certain celebrity reaffirmed her decision to retire from modeling 26 years ago. “I was just starting to create Iman Cosmetics, so I wanted to be also taken seriously and not be at fashion shows every day. But what really put the nail there for me was that I read they held a show—an hour—for Paris Hilton. I knew the game had changed. It became where everybody wants to be seen and it’s become a different animal. I mean, when you have D-listers…We’re not talking about Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman. You know, you hold a show for that person because she is the establishment; she is fashion. But, seriously? Paris Hilton?” she said. “No.”
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