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Tyson Beckford
Tyson Beckford (cropped).jpg
Beckford at FashionWeekLive in San Francisco, 2007
Born (1970-12-19) December 19, 1970 (age 53)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Children 1
Modeling information
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Hair color Black
Eye color Brown

Tyson Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is an American model and actor best known as a Ralph Lauren Polo model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel. Beckford has been described as one of the most successful black male supermodels of all time, achieving fame and huge contracts similar to the female models who had huge success in the 1990s.

Early life

Beckford was born in The Bronx, New York City, on December 19, 1970, to a Jamaican mother, Hillary Dixon Hall, and a Panamanian father of Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent, Lloyd Beckford.

Soon after he was born, his mother took the family back to Jamaica, where they lived for seven years before moving to Rochester, New York, where he attended and graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School. During his school years, Tyson was often teased about his looks.

Career

In 1992, Erik Lauren Counsel of the hip hop magazine The Source approached Beckford "in Washington Square Park" about being "in a style piece" in the magazine New York City. In an August 2021 VLADTV interview, Beckford clarified that nobody named Jeff Jones "discovered him" and said that "the person who gets the credit is Erik."

Confusion about his discovery might have happened after a 2005 People magazine interview, when Beckford stated that his career began as he was "minding his own business" in Manhattan's Washington Square Park, when scouts from the hip hop magazine The Source asked him to pose. .....

In 1993, Beckford was recruited by Ralph Lauren as the front model for the company's Polo line of male sportswear.

Tyson Beckford by Arnaldo Anaya Lucca
Early photo of Beckford for Ralph Lauren Corporation by Arnaldo Anaya-Lucca

Beckford was named "Man of the Year" in 1995 by cable television music channel VH1 and one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine. He is represented by Soul Artist Management in New York City and D'management Group in Milan. He was ranked at number 38 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s.

In 2003, he appeared on the ABC network's celebrity reality game show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. In September 2008, he supported the National RESPECT! Campaign against domestic violence, recording a voice message for the Giverespect.org Web site, speaking about the importance of respect for others.

Beckford co-hosted the modeling contest Make Me a Supermodel on the television channel Bravo with fellow supermodel Niki Taylor. The show chose Nicole Trunfio to join Beckford as a mentor to the model contestants for the show's second season. Other judges included designer Catherine Malandrino, model Jenny Shimizu, photographer Perou, and model scout Marlon.

Beckford judged and mentored the contestants of the first few episodes of the Australian version of Make Me a Supermodel with model and former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins. In 2012, he participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice.

He was one of the judges on the British version of America's Next Top Model.

Personal life

On Monday, June 6, 2005, Beckford was injured during a vehicle accident in Secaucus, New Jersey. "Shortly before 5:00 am, he lost control of his 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 and struck a utility pole. The vehicle caught fire immediately after the collision, but Beckford was able to pull himself out before the red pick-up became fully engulfed in flames." He was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center and hospitalized for head trauma and cuts.

During an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tyson claimed the accident had a profound effect on his spirituality.

In the aforementioned Oprah interview, Tyson said he was stopped at a stop sign on Route 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey, just outside of New York City, when he says his truck was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. "I did a 180° spin and had my clutch foot in and my brake foot in. I was literally standing on top of it. I just hit the pole and wrapped the front end of my truck around it, and that was it." "I remember hitting the steering wheel," Tyson says. "It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat and hit me on the [right] side of my face. I fell back into my seat and it was such a shock. I didn't know what happened and I wasn't moving. Then I figured, 'Okay, I'm dead.'"

Beckford has been a resident of the New Jersey communities of Edgewater and West New York.

Beckford has a son (born in 1998) from a relationship with celebrity stylist April Roomet, who appears on the E! Television program Candy Girls. Beckford is an ambassador for the nonprofit Kick 4 Life, an organization that uses the power of soccer to engage vulnerable youth in holistic care and support in Lesotho.

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Boricua's Bond -
2001 Zoolander Himself
2002 Trois 2: Pandora's Box Lance Racine
Gully Man / Prisoner
2003 Biker Boyz Donny
2004 Gas Karl
2005 Searching for Bobby D Jerome
Into the Blue Primo
Wait Charles Short
2008 Kings of the Evening Homer Hobbs
Hotel California Al
2014 Addicted Corey
2015 Chocolate City Adrian 'Rude Boy'
Supermodel Alex
2022 Singleholic Manuele

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002 My Wife and Kids Hunter Episode: "The Kyles Go to Hawaii: Part 1 & 2"
2002-03 Hollywood Squares Himself/Panelist Recurring Guest
2003 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Himself Cast Member: season 1
Half & Half ... Guy Episode: "The Big 'I Have a Dream' Episode"
2004 MTV Cribs Himself Episode: "Nov 21, 2004"
2005 Making the Video Motorcyclist Episode: "Britney Spears: Toxic"
2006 Urbanation (Travel) Himself Episode: "New York 3"
Queer Eye Himself Episode: "Messenger to Model Material: Jesan H"
2007-11 America's Next Top Model Himself/Guest Judge Recurring Guest Judge
2008 Tim Gunn's Guide to Style Himself Episode: "Erica"
2008-09 Make Me a Supermodel Himself/host Main Host
2012 The Choice Himself Episode: "Season Finale"
2013 The Real Housewives of Atlanta Himself Episode: "Secrets Revealed"
2014 SWV Reunited Himself Episode: "SWV's Comeback"
FNL's Flashback Friday Himself Episode: "Tyson Beckford"
The Face Himself Episode: "Runway Dinner Party"
2016 The Characters Himself Episode: "Natasha Rothwell"
2016-17 Hollywood Game Night Himself/Celebrity Player Episode: "That's Mighty Biggs of You" & "A RuPaul Awakening"
2017 Match Game Himself Episode: "Adam Carolla/Jenna Fischer/Tyson Beckford/Caroline Rhea/Jay Pharoah/Ana Gasteyer"
Hip Hop Squares Himself/Contestant Recurring Guest
90's House Himself Episode: "The one with the Big Finale"
2019 Huge in France Himself Episode: "Épisode Deux"
2020 Legendary Himself/Guest Judge Episode: "Once Upon a Time"
2023 Dancing with the Stars Himself/Contestant Season 32

Music videos

Year Title Artist
1992 "Anything" SWV
1993 "Go West" Pet Shop Boys
"Breathe Again" Toni Braxton
1994 "Slow Down" Trisha Covington
1995 "Live Niguz" Onyx
"Ice Cream" Raekwon
"My Up and Down" Adina Howard
"One More Chance" The Notorious B.I.G.
1996 "Un-Break My Heart" Toni Braxton
1997 "Anywhere You Want" Simbi Khali
1998 "Horse & Carriage" Cam'ron
"What'cha Wanna Do?" Mia X
"The Way It's Going Down" Shaq
"Raise the Roof" Luke
2003 "21 Questions" 50 Cent
"Act a Fool" Ludacris
"Say How I Feel" Rhian Benson
2004 "Toxic" Britney Spears
2007 "China Wine" Sun aka Geisha
2008 "How It Was Supposed to Be" Ryan Leslie
"Go Hard" DJ Khaled
2014 "With Your Love" Yola Araújo
2015 "Infinity" Mariah Carey
2022 "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)" Lizzo
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