Born on December 19, 1970 in Bronx, New York, Tyson Craig Beckford is the son of a Jamaican mother and a half Jamaican and half Chinese father, who raised him in Rochester, New York. He was educated at Pittsford Mendon High School and while there, he participated in the Urban-Suburban Program, which aimed to give educational opportunities to urban youth in the city.
Beckford began his career as a model after he was discovered by an editor from hip-hop magazine The Source in 1991. He then landed a job at a New York agency, which shortly placed him in a modeling job for photographers Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber. Weber then brought him to Ralph Lauren, who hired him for the company's sport, fragrance and body line named Polo Sport.
In 1995, Beckford began appearing on a number of magazines such as paper and Essence. He also landed multiple-page spreads in Vogue, GQ, The New York Times and Details. In the same year, he was named by VH1 as Man of the Year, and was also included in People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
As an actor, Beckford worked on films Into the Blue, Zoolander and Biker Boyz. He also appeared in music videos "Toxic" by Britney Spears, "21 Questions" by 50 Cent, and "Unbreak my Heart" by Toni Braxton. He returns to television screens as the co-host of Niki Taylor in Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel.
(Photos courtesy of Bravo)