Tyson Beckford
Born	December 19, 1970 (1970-12-19) (age 39) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Birth name	Tyson Collin Henderson
Measurements	40-27-35
Height	6' 0" (183 cm)[1]
Suit	44L[citation needed]
Shoe size	12 (U.S.)[citation needed]
Eye color	Brown
Hair color	Black
Ethnicity	Jamaican-American

Tyson Craig Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is an American model and actor, best known as a Ralph Lauren model. He is currently the host on the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 2.1 Personal Life 3 Filmography 4 References 5 External Links

[edit] Biography

Beckford was born on December 19, 1970 to a Black Jamaican father of Panamanian descent and a Black Jamaican mother with some Chinese heritage. He grew up in Rochester, New York and attended Bay Trail Middle School in nearby Penfield, New York. He then graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School in the affluent suburb of Pittsford as a participant in the Urban-Suburban Program, a busing program designed to give educational opportunities to urban youth in the city's surrounding suburban school districts. Beckford was a member of his high school football and track teams.

In 1992, he was recruited to hip hop magazine The Source by a talent scout, Jeff Jones, who has been credited with 'discovering' Beckford in New York City. In 1993, Beckford was recruited by Ralph Lauren as the front model for the company's Polo line of male sportswear.

[edit] Career

Beckford was named "Man of the Year" in 1995 by the cable television music channel VH1 & one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine. He is represented by Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, California, and Independent Models in London, England. He was ranked at #38 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s.^[2]

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.^[3]

Beckford is currently co-hosting the modeling contest Make Me a Supermodel on the television channel Bravo with fellow supermodel Niki Taylor. The show has chosen Nicole Trunfio to join Beckford as a mentor to the model contestants for the show's upcoming second season. New judges include designer Catherine Malandrino, model Jenny Shimizu, photographer Perou and model scout Marlon^[4].

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.

[edit] Personal Life

In June 2005, Beckford was injured in a car accident near his home. His vehicle caught fire, and Beckford was able to pull himself out before it became fully engulfed in flames^[5]. Tyson claimed the accident had a profound effect on his spirituality on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Beckford has been a resident of the New Jersey communities of Edgewater^[6] and West New York^[5].

Tyson has a 10-year-old son, Jordan, from a previous relationship with designer April Roomet, who appears on the E! television program, "Candy Girls".^[7][8]. Beckford posed nude in play girl may 2009.

[edit] Filmography

• Boricua's Bond (2000)
• Zoolander (2001)
• Shottas (2002)
• Pandora's Box (2002)
• Gully (2002)
• Biker Boyz (2003)
• Searching for Bobby D (2004)
• Gas (2004)
• Into the Blue (2005)
• Dream Street (late 2006 early 2007)
• Kings of the Evening (2008)
• Hotel California (2008)

Television

• Superbikes as himself
• America's Next Top Model as a Guest Judge
• Project Runway as a Guest Judge
• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy as himself
• My Wife and Kids
• Make Me a Supermodel as himself
• I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! as himself
• Candy Girls as himself

Music Videos

• Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart"
• Raekwon's "Ice Cream"
• 50 Cent's "21 Questions"
• Trisha Covington's "Slow Down"
• Britney Spears' "Toxic"
• Ludacris's "Act A Fool"
• Adina Howard's "My Up and Down"
• SWV's "Anything"
• Rhian Benson's "Say How I Feel"
• Pet Shop Boys' "Go West"
• Sun aka Geisha's "China Wine"
• The Notorious B.I.G.'s "One More Chance"
• Ryan Leslie's "How It Was Supposed To Be"
• DJ Khaled's "Go Hard"
• Mia X's "Whatcha Gonna Do"
• 50 Cent's "That Ain't Gangsta"

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

• "Tyson Beckford: Producer". The 1 Second Film. http://the1secondfilm.com/producer/1523. 
• Tyson Beckford at the Internet Movie Database
• Tyson Beckford at Allmovie