I was always visually aware of this beautiful multiethnic woman since the 1970s

Always loved her quirky whimsical air and expression.

I hope she recovers well from her battle with cancer and live

Cleveland is a devotee of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, the current spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path.

(born June 23, 1950) is an American fashion model who initially attained success in the 1960s and 1970s and was one of the first American model of African admixture within the fashion industry to achieve prominence as a runway model and print model.

Cleveland was born in New York City in 1950 to Johnny Johnston, a white jazz saxophonist of Irish and Swedish ancestry, and Lady Bird Cleveland, an artist of African-American and Native-American ancestry. Her parents separated when she was young and she was raised by her mother in Harlem. She studied performing arts at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and studied design at New York's High School of Art and Design and hoped to become a fashion designer. Some of her earliest photographs as a youngster were taken by Carl Van Vechten, who was among her mother's coterie of artist friends.

Cleveland's career as a model began in 1966 when she was on a subway platform with a friend en route to class and was noticed by the assistant to Carrie Donovan, fashion editor at Vogue. Donovan, impressed by Cleveland's fashionable clothing, invited her to tour the Vogue offices and the magazine subsequently published a feature on her as an up-and-coming young designer. The article led to her being approached by Ebony which asked Cleveland if she would perform as model for its Fashion Fair national runway tour. Cleveland agreed and decided she would place her aspirations to be a designer on hold and try her luck as a fashion model.

Following her tour with Ebony, Cleveland caught the attention of designers such as Jacques Tiffeau and Stephen Burrows. At age 18, she was signed to Wilhelmina Models after designer Oleg Cassini initially recommended her to Eileen Ford. Cleveland has stated that Ford had rejected her based on her race.

Soon she was meeting and working with many of the fashion industry's top enterprising people of the era, including Diana Vreeland and being photographed by Irving Penn, Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, Christopher Makos, and Andy Warhol and briefly became a muse to Salvador Dalí. She made her first appearance as a fashion model in American Vogue in June 1970, photographed by Berry Berenson and the same year, appeared in the very first issue of Essence magazine. Despite her early success, Cleveland grew disillusioned with America and what she perceived to be its racist attitudes towards black and mixed models. She relocated to Paris by suggestion of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez in 1971 and soon became a house model for Karl Lagerfeld, who was the main designer at Chloé. Cleveland vowed not to return to the United States until a black model appeared on the American cover of Vogue. During the 1970s she modeled for designers such as Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior. With Karen Bjornson, Anjelica Huston, Alva Chinn, and Pat Ast, among others, she became one of Halston's favoured troupe of models, nicknamed the Halstonettes.

The pinnacle of her success in Europe was her participation in the November 28, 1973 Battle of Versailles Fashion Show; a gala event initially conceived as a publicity stunt and fundraiser held at Théâtre Gabriel for the then-dilapidated Palace of Versailles. The gala, which pitted five French designers: Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro and Christian Dior's Marc Bohan, against five American designers: Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Anne Klein, Halston and Stephen Burrows in a fashion showdown. The event became an international fashion extravaganza with style writers and society columnists, wealthy socialites, royalty, tycoons and politicians in attendance. Cleveland was one of 36 models to walk the runway for the event. Of the 36 models, ten were black, an unprecedented number for the era. The gala later was chronicled in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History by Robin Givhan.

After Beverly Johnson became the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue in August 1974, Pat Cleveland returned to the United States and continued her modeling career. From the early to late 1970s, she appeared on the covers of: Vanity Fair, Interview, Essence, Harper's, Cosmopolitan, Women's Wear Daily, L'Officiel, The Sunday Times Magazine, GQ, Vogue Paris, W, and Elle.

During the mid to late 1970s she became a fixture at New York City's exclusive discothèque Studio 54, often in the company of friends Halston, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones, Andy Warhol and Sterling St. Jacques.

Pat Cleveland Diagnosed With Colon Cancer After Walking Paris Fashion Week

Legendary supermodel Pat Cleveland has been diagnosed with colon cancer. After walking the runways at Paris Fashion Week last month, the 68-year-old fell ill and was rushed to a hospital in the French capital. Her family is now asking for help with medical expenses via a GoFundMe page.Cleveland unexpectedly had to undergo emergency surgery in Paris after modeling in Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya's '70s-themed runway show. According to reports, she's currently in intensive care at the American Hospital in Paris, where she must remain until doctors clear her for travel back to the U.S.

The supermodel doesn't have health insurance and her Medicare won't cover treatment outside of the United States. Cleveland's husband, Paul Van Ravenstein, set up a GoFundMe page to assist the family's medical expenses.

"This was totally unexpected, but Pat is doing OK, she is staying very strong. She is going to have to undergo chemotherapy after a month, and we are hoping she'll be home in the US to do that. We have to wait to see what the doctor says about travel for Pat. It's a shock, how is it possible that this could happen to somebody so healthy?" Van Ravenstein told Page Six.

Since the family launched its GoFundMe campaign on March 31, the page has raised $58,000 of its $150,000 goal. Fashion industry insiders including Zac Posen, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Anna Sui are amongst those who have donated to the supermodel's medical expenses.