Dovima

2025-03-08T14:17:14Z

177.192.14.43:

{{short description|American actress}}
{{About||the Spanish drag queen|Dovima Nurmi}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dovima
| image = IMG 3432.JPG
| caption = Dovima in the 1950s (Photo by [[Edgar de Evia]] for a [[furrier]])
| birth_name = Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|12|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|5|3|1927|12|11|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], U.S.
| othername = {{hlist|Doe | Dorothy Horan }}
| occupation = {{hlist|Model| actress}}
| years_active = 1949–1964
| spouse = {{ubl
| {{marriage|Jack Golden|1948|1957|end=divorced}}
| {{marriage|Allan Murray|1957|1963|end=divorced}}
| {{marriage|Casper West Hollingsworth|1982|1986|end=died}}
}}
| children = 1
}}

'''Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba''' (December 11, 1927 – May 3, 1990), known professionally as '''Dovima''', was an American model during the 1950s.

==Biography==
Dovima was born Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba in [[Queens, New York]]. The name "Dovima" is composed of the first two letters of her three given names. She was the first model to use a single name. <ref name="auto">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/06/dovima-with-elephants-story|title=How Richard Avedon Redefined Beauty with "Dovima with Elephants"—and What Happened Next|first=Derek|last=Blasberg|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=June 16, 2017}}</ref>

Dovima was discovered on a sidewalk in New York by an editor at ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', and had a photo shoot with [[Irving Penn]] the following day. Throughout her career she worked closely with [[Richard Avedon]], whose photograph of her in a floor-length black evening gown with circus elephants—''Dovima with the Elephants''<ref name="Elephants">{{cite web |url= https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82832 |title= Dovima with the Elephants - evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955. |author= Richard Avedon, [[Gelatin-silver process|Gelatin-silver]] print |work= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |year= 1981 |quote= }}</ref>—taken at the [[Cirque d'hiver]], [[Paris]], in August 1955, became an icon and sold for $1,151,976 in 2010.<ref>Paul Fraser Collectibles</ref> The gown was the first evening dress designed for [[Christian Dior]] by his new assistant, [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint-Laurent]].<ref name="Laurent exhibition">{{cite web |url= http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/YSL/artifacts.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051026012507/http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/YSL/artifacts.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2005-10-26 |title= Exhibition: Yves Saint Laurent, Broadbent Gallery, March–October 2005. |work= [[Kent State University]] }}</ref> Dovima was reputed to be the highest-paid model of her time, demanding $60 per hour when most of the top models were receiving only around $25 per hour. She became known as the "Dollar-a-Minute Girl."<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/05/obituaries/dovima-a-regal-model-of-the-50-s-is-dead-at-63.html|title=Dovima, a Regal Model of the 50's, Is Dead at 63 (Published 1990)|first=Bernadine|last=Morris|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 5, 1990}}</ref>

She had a minor role as Marion in the film ''[[Funny Face]]''. The character was an aristocratic-looking but empty-headed fashion model.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

Dovima gave birth to a daughter named Allison on July 14, 1958, in Manhattan. Allison's father was Dovima's second husband, Allan Murray. 

Dovima was left penniless when her marriage to Murray ended in divorce. Throughout the 1960s, she first tried acting then attempted working as an agent but found little success. Eventually, by the 1970s, she had moved in with her parents in Florida, and was working as a hostess at The Two Guys Pizza Parlor in [[Fort Lauderdale]], [[Florida]], by the 1980s.<ref name="auto"/>

She died of [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] on May 3, 1990, at the age of 62.

==Filmography==
* ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' as Mrs. Aline Parmenter (1 episode, 1964)
* ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'' as Mrs. Karda (1 episode, 1964)
* ''[[My Favorite Martian]]'' as Model (1 episode, 1964)
* ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957) as Marion

==See also==
{{Commons}}
* [[Dorian Leigh]]
* [[Suzy Parker]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0235579}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050311035302/http://www.blondeen.tvheaven.com/dovimasite/dovimabio1.html Dovima bio] (archive)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dovima}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Female models from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer in Florida]]

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Dovima