Tyson Beckford

Tyson Craig Beckford (born December 19, 1970 in Bronx, New York) is an American supermodel and actor, known worldwide for his muscular physique, facial structure, and tattoos; and also as the lead model for Ralph Lauren. He is also reported to be one of the highest-paid and richest male supermodels in the world. Recently, Beckford married UK born entrepreneur Berniece Julien, a selected audience were invited to their private ceremony on a beach in Grenada.

Beckford is the son of a Jamaican and Chinese father and African-American mother. Growing up in Rochester, New York, he attended 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. Tyson was a member of his high school football and track teams, and it has been reported that early in his life, Beckford was a gang member and was involved in the sale and distribution of illegal narcotics. In 1991, he was recruited to hip hop magazine The Source by a talent scout who had come across him by chance in a New York park. In 1993, Beckford was recruited by Ralph Lauren as the front model for the company's Polo line of male sportswear. Beckford's fame continued to rise, and he was named "Man of the Year" in 1995 by VH1, as well as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine.