Tyson Beckford was born on December 19, 1970 and grew up in Rochester, New York. He attended Bay Trail Middle School in nearby Penfield, NY. He then 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. Beckford was a member of his high school football and track teams.

In 1991, he was recruited to hip hop magazine The Source by a talent scout, Jeff Jones, 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 parents are both Jamaican, however his paternal grandmother is Chinese, and his maternal grandfather is Panamanian. This multi-ethnic ancestry is responsible for the "exotic" look which made Beckford a staple in the fashion world.

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