18 Facts About Jackie Ormes

Jackie Ormes is known as the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the Torchy Brown comic strip and the Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger panel.

Jackie Ormes was born Zelda Mavin Jackson on August 1,1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to parents William Winfield Jackson and Mary Brown Jackson.

Jackie Ormes started in journalism as a proofreader for the Pittsburgh Courier.

Jackie Ormes worked as an editor and as a freelance writer, writing on police beats, court cases and human-interest topics.

Jackie Ormes's work was not syndicated in the usual sense, but, since the Courier had fourteen city editions, she was indeed read from coast to coast.

Jackie Ormes soon began writing occasional articles and, briefly, a social column for The Chicago Defender, one of the nation's leading black newspapers, a weekly at that time.

Jackie Ormes expressed her talent for fashion design as well as her vision of a beautiful black female body in the accompanying paper doll topper, Torchy Togs.

Jackie Ormes used Torchy in Heartbeats as a sounding board for several big issues of the time.

Jackie Ormes contracted with the Terri Lee doll company in 1947 to produce a play doll based on her little girl cartoon character.

Jackie Ormes's heroines, including the iconic Torchy in Heartbeats, are strong and independent women who are socially and politically aware, who strive for their goals against all odds, defy social norms, and pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move on to the next adventure.

Jackie Ormes' heroines faced challenges that were not dragons or evil stepmothers, but instead relatable and contemporary issues, such as smothering aunts or the dangers of being taken advantage of in an unfamiliar environment.

Jackie Ormes created women that her readership could believe in, root for, and aspire to be.

Jackie Ormes retired from cartooning in 1956, although she continued to create art, including murals, still lifes and portraits until rheumatoid arthritis made this impossible.

Jackie Ormes contributed to her South Side Chicago community by volunteering to produce fundraiser fashion shows and entertainments.

Jackie Ormes was on the founding board of directors for the DuSable Museum of African American History.

Jackie Ormes was a passionate doll collector, with 150 antique and modern dolls in her collection, and she was active in Guys and Gals Funtastique Doll Club, a United Federation of Doll Clubs chapter in Chicago.

Jackie Ormes died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Chicago on December 26,1985.

Jackie Ormes was posthumously inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2014, and was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Industry Eisner Award Hall of Fame as a Judges' Choice in 2018.