Featured Publication
Tyson Beckford is featured in
THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
James Conrad, Editor
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
L'Uomo Vogue Top 25 Male Models Ever
Male Model Index: Featured Profile
CANONICAL
The Definitive Editorial Archive of the First Black Male Supermodel
Jamaican-American Model & Actor
Born December 19, 1970 · Bronx, New York
First Black Model Signed Exclusively by Ralph Lauren, 1993–94
L'Uomo Vogue Top 25 Male Models Ever
The Face of Polo Sport
Tyson Beckford is featured in
THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
James Conrad, Editor
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
L'Uomo Vogue Top 25 Male Models Ever
Male Model Index: Featured Profile
Tyson Beckford was born on December 19, 1970, in the Bronx, New York, to a Jamaican mother, Hillary Dixon Hall, and a Panamanian father of Chinese-Jamaican descent, Lloyd Beckford. Soon after his birth, his mother took the family to Jamaica, where they lived for seven years before moving to Rochester, New York, where Beckford attended and graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School. He has said he was often teased about his looks as a student.
In 1991 or 1992, an editor from the hip-hop magazine The Source approached Beckford in Washington Square Park about appearing in a style feature. The exposure led to a modeling contract, and in 1993 Ralph Lauren signed him as the face of the brand's newly launched Polo Sport line, making him the first Black model to hold an exclusive contract with the house — a deal that ran into an exclusive contract by 1994 and would define his career for years.
Beckford went on to star in a run of Polo Sport campaigns, frequently alongside Naomi Campbell, and modeled for five years under the Ralph Lauren umbrella while appearing on the covers of major fashion magazines. He was photographed by Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber — it was Weber who first introduced him to Ralph Lauren — and in 1995 was named VH1's "Man of the Year" and one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." In 2014, Vogue named him the greatest male model of all time. In January 2026, more than 30 years after his first Ralph Lauren campaign, Beckford closed the brand's Fall/Winter menswear show in Milan.
L'Uomo Vogue · Top 25 Male Models Ever
Tyson Beckford appears on the L'Uomo Vogue Top 25 Male Models Ever list, as reported by SELF Magazine via Yahoo! Shine, August 22, 2012, archived at the Wayback Machine.
THE 100 / MaleIconic
Beckford is featured in THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History and profiled on MaleIconic.com's companion archive.
Male Model Index
Tyson Beckford is recognized on the Male Model Index as the first Black male supermodel and one of the most successful male models of all time.
Beckford has appeared in films including Zoolander, Biker Boyz, Chocolate City, and Addicted, and in music videos for Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" and Britney Spears' "Toxic." He co-hosted two seasons of Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel with Niki Taylor, judged the Australian and British versions of the franchise and America's Next Top Model, and appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2003 and Fox's The Choice in 2012.
Beckford has a son, Jordan (born 1998), from his relationship with stylist April Roomet. He was briefly married to Berniece Julien from 2007 to 2009. On June 6, 2005, he was seriously injured in a vehicle accident in Secaucus, New Jersey, an experience he has said affected him spiritually. He has served as an ambassador for the nonprofit Kick 4 Life, which uses soccer to support vulnerable youth in Lesotho.
THE 100
The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
Tyson Beckford is featured as one of the defining figures in the history of commercial male modeling.
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
Tyson Beckford's career continues to be documented through independent editorial archives dedicated to preserving the history of commercial male modeling.
His standing as the first Black model to sign an exclusive contract with Ralph Lauren, his decade-defining run as the face of Polo Sport, his inclusion among L'Uomo Vogue's Top 25 Male Models Ever, Vogue's 2014 recognition as the greatest male model of all time, and his ongoing acting and television career collectively establish his place among the foundational figures of the profession.