--- description: China Machado is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: China Machado: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cbf3f4feb278a2e/698a0af0b21a9c48d15033bb/social-1958_China-Machado.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1958: China Machado Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT  China Machado, New York, November 6, 1958; Photograph by Richard Avedon, © The Richard Avedon Foundation by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT Before Noelie “China” Machado started modeling, she said, she never thought she was beautiful; there were “no images” of people like her. (Machado had Portuguese, Chinese and Indian roots.) But in 1958, she was photographed by[ Richard Avedon](https://time.com/4282673/allure-photography/ "undefined"), becoming one of the [first known women of color](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/fashion/china-machado-first-non-white-supermodel.html "undefined") featured in a major U.S. magazine. Machado said Avedon threatened to sever ties with _Harper’s Bazaar_ when the publisher balked at her appearance. The final images paved the way for other women of color in the industry. Time and again, Machado was a pioneer. She became an editor at _Harper’s_ in 1962 and signed with IMG Models at the age of 81—proving that a [more inclusive view](https://time.com/4579222/iman-bethann-mentorship/ "undefined") of beauty was not just possible, but necessary. _—Cady Lang_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793589/china-machado-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793589/china-machado-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1958: China Machado","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:36:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:57.736Z","description":"China Machado is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793589/china-machado-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cbf3f4feb278a2e/698a0af0b21a9c48d15033bb/social-1958_China-Machado.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cbf3f4feb278a2e/698a0af0b21a9c48d15033bb/social-1958_China-Machado.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1958_China-Machado","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793589/china-machado-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1958: China Machado"}}]}] ```