Tyson Beckford

Tyson Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is a Jamaican-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 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 Bronx, New York, on December 19, 1970, to a Jamaican mother, Hillary Dixon Hall, and a Panamanian father of 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. "I'm thinkin', 'Yeah, this is some porno magazine,'" he recalled, "but everything was legit."

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

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 June 6, 2005, Beckford was injured during a vehicle accident in Secaucus, New Jersey, in which his 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 struck a utility pole and caught fire. He was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center and hospitalized for head trauma and cuts. During an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Beckford claimed the accident had a profound effect on his spirituality.

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

Beckford has a son (born 1998) from a relationship with 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 Sexy Guy Episode: "The Big 'I Have a Dream' Episode" 2004 Making the Video Motorcycle Man Episode: "Britney Spears: Toxic" 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 2011–13 Britain's Next Top Model Himself/Judge Guest Judge: Season 7, Main Judge: Season 8-9 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/Judge Episode: "Runway Dinner Party" 2016 The Characters Himself Episode: "Natasha Rothwell" 2016–17 Hollywood Game Night Himself/Celebrity Player Guest Celebrity Player: Season 4-5 2017 Match Game Himself Episode: "Episode #2.8" Hip Hop Squares Himself/Contestant Recurring Guest 90's House Himself Episode: "The one with the Big Finale" 2019 Huge in France Himself Recurring Cast 2020 Legendary Himself/Guest Judge Episode: "Once Upon a Time" 2021 The Mediator Himself Episode: "Model Behavior" 2022 Uncensored Himself Episode: "Tyson Beckford" 2023 Dancing with the Stars Himself/Contestant Contestant: Season 32 2024 In Vogue: The 90s Himself Episode: "The American Moment"

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 "Industry" Wyclef Jean "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