Actress and model Claudia Jordan was born on April 12, 1973 in Providence, Rhode Island. Born to mixed ethnicities—her mother is Italian, while her father is African-American—she attended Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, majoring in broadcasting and journalism, and even presenting a show in the college’s radio station.
Jordan first broke out in 1990, when she began Rhode Island’s representative to that year’s Miss Teen USA pageant. Seven years later, she had the chance to represent the state again, this time for the Miss USA pageant; she made it through to the top 10, but failed to crack the top five. From there, she began working for local media, appearing for programs in a Boston-based television station, and writing for the Providence American.
Jordan returned to the nationwide public eye in 2001, when she became one of the so-called Barker’s Beauties on the daytime game show The Price is Right. During this time, she slowly broke into acting, making her debut in the 2002 film S1m0ne before appearing as a guest in several television shows. She also hosted, or acted as correspondent, for several programs, including Livin’ Large and 54321. In 2003, she left The Price is Right, only to appear four years later in another game show—as one of the 26 ladies carrying the cases on Deal or No Deal. She holds case number 9 in the opening week and then she moved to case number 1 permanently. More recently, she joined the cast of the reality series The Celebrity Apprentice.