Cathee Dahmen
Born
Cathee Dahmen

(1945-09-16)September 16, 1945
DiedNovember 25, 1997(1997-11-25) (aged 52)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCatherine Helen Sachs
OccupationModel
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1971; div. 1977)​
    ​
    (m. 1977)​
    Children4

    Catherine Helen Sachs née Cathee Dahmen (September 16, 1945 – November 25, 1997) was the first Native American supermodel in the 1960s and 1970s.

    She was half German, half Chippewa and was born and raised in Minnesota.[1]

    Modeling career

    Dahmen left home at the age of 17 to live with her uncle, artist George Morrison, in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] She was discovered in her late teens by The New York Times illustrator Antonio Lopez, who spotted her uncle's portrait of her and was ultimately responsible for her introduction into the fashion industry.

    Dahmen spent her peak years with Ford Models, where she was one of the agency's top earners of the 1960s.[3] She appeared on the covers of numerous fashion magazines including, Harper's Bazaar in 1968[4] and both UK[5] Vogue and Italia in 1971[6][7][2] She was also associated with the Youthquake movement.[5]

    Family

    Dahmen grew up in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1962, while still in high school, she gave birth to her first daughter, Veronica Rose Dahmen (now author Susan Fedorko) who at the age of 11 months—and without Dahmen's knowledge or consent—was placed up for adoption with the Smith family, by Dahmen's mother. Heartbreak associated with this incident precipitated Dahmen's relocation to Providence, Rhode Island.[2] A 2009 Denver Post article revealed that this daughter had been adopted by a Minnesota family and only later discovered that her mother "became a supermodel in the 1970s and hung out with the likes of Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol."[8]

    After marrying young British actor Leonard Whiting, Dahmen moved to London, where she continued her career, modeling for Models 1. This marriage produced a daughter in 1972, Sarah Beth Whiting, who died in 2014, but not before reuniting with her half sister, author Susan Fedorko.[9] Dahmen divorced Whiting in the late 1970s and entered her second marriage to singer Alan Merrill in 1977, she moved with him to New York from London, in 1980.[10] Dahmen had by then two children with Merrill, daughter Laura Ann Sachs and son Allan Preston Sachs Jr.[11][12][13] The couple later divorced and Merrill remarried.[14]

    Dahmen retired from modeling in 1980s and died in 1997 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was survived by her 3 children.[3]

    References

    1. ↑ Fedorko, Suzi. "Native American Adoptee-coming Home". Adoption.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    2. 1 2 3 Fedorko, Susan (November 1, 2019). "The Mother I Never Knew by Susan Fedorko". VISIBLE Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
    3. 1 2 "Cathee Dahmen by Susie Fedorko". Neal Barr Photography. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    4. ↑ "Harper's Bazaar May 1968 Cathee Dahmen". Paper Pursuits. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    5. 1 2 "August 1971 - UK Vogue". Youthquaker, 1965-1975. November 16, 2010. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    6. ↑ catheedahmen. "Cathee Dahmen". catheedahmen.tumblr.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
    7. ↑ Fedorko, Susan (September 24, 2019). "My Adoption Reunion Story". Living the Second Act. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
    8. ↑ Whaley, Monte (November 28, 2009). "Forcibly adopted American Indians torn between cultures". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    9. ↑ "Sarah Knestrick - Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
    10. ↑ "Alan Merrill's Biography". alanmerrill.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    11. ↑ Fedorko, Suzie. "My Birth Mother, The Fashion Model". MORE Magazine. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
    12. ↑ catheedahmen. "Cathee Dahmen". Family Album KEY: (*)image scanned by me, Allan Sachs. All other images come from my family members from the Dahmen side, my sister, Laura, or father, Alan Merrill. Cathee Dahmen with her parents and... Retrieved January 6, 2023.
    13. ↑ littlequeenies (July 2013). "🌸Little Queenies🌸". Tumblr. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
    14. ↑ "Alan Merrill obituary". the Guardian. April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
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