Celebrity Spotlight: Supermodel, actress, activist and author Beverly Johnson will be presented with a Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award in Denver, CO, on October 25, 2014 by Global Down Syndrome Foundation during its “Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show”. Previous honorees have included Jamie Foxx whose sister suffers from the condition.

Johnson will lead the catwalk this year at an auspicious time when she’s being recognized at the 40th Anniversary of being the first African-American woman featured on a Vogue Magazine cover.

“The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show showcases the abilities of people with Down syndrome and provides a vehicle for them to shine as bright as any star from Hollywood,” says Michelle Sie Whitten, Executive Director of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. “It also reminds our community how neglected and underfunded this population is and how they can help in a real and impactful way.”

In its five-year history, the fashion show (the largest single fundraiser for Down syndrome in the nation, attracting more than 1,200 attendees each year) has raised over $7,600,000 to support the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome on the Anschutz Medical Campus and its Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The event funds life-changing research, medical care, advocacy, and education. A key area of the Crnic Institute’s research is the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.