Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte, also known as Mercedes Yvette (born August 24, 1981 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

), is an American fashion model and actress. She was a contestant on Cycle 2 of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

''. During the show, Scelba-Shorte revealed that she has

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

, an autoimmune disease.

Before ''Top Model''

Scelba-Shorte was studying at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

before auditioning for ''America's Next Top Model''. She was eventually chosen as one of the 12 finalists on Cycle 2 of ''America's Next Top Model'', which aired in 2004. In 2000, she also appeared in the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

reality show ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

''.

Modeling and acting career

On Cycle 2 of ''

'', Mercedes received two ‘first call outs’ and won one challenge, eventually placing second. After appearing on ''America's Next Top Model'', Scelba-Shorte became a spokesperson for the

Lupus Foundation of America The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), founded in 1977, is a national voluntary health organization based in Washington, D.C., with a network of chapters, offices and support groups located in communities throughout the United States. The Founda ...

. She signed with Nous Model Management and has also landed small roles in a number of

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

including '' One on One'', ''

All of Us ''All of Us'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by ...

'', and ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

''. She has appeared on the cover of ''Wedding Dresses'' magazine in 2005, ''Lupus Now'' magazine (Fall 2004 and Fall 2007), and ''Arthritis Today''. She has also graced the pages of ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...

''. Her commercial credits include

Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal statio ...

Mederma Mederma is a topical product used to improve scar appearance. It is a gel based on an onion extract and produced by Merz Pharmaceuticals of Frankfurt, Germany, although it is not sold in Germany. Mederma's marketing claims it can make scars "softer, ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Payless Shoes Payless (formerly known as Payless ShoeSource Inc.) is an international discount footwear chain. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez, Payless was a privately held company owned by Blum Capital, and Golden Gate Capital. In 1961, ...

Bell South BellSouth, LLC (stylized as ''BELLSOUTH'' and formerly known as BellSouth Corporation) was an American telecommunications holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth was one of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies after ...

, and

Chevy Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...

. Other modeling credits include Anchor Blue,

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawai ...

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Halston Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were a ...

Mervyn's Mervyn's was an American middle-scale department store chain based in Hayward, California, and founded by Mervin G. Morris (1920–2021). It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, ...

, and

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

. Her runway credits include: DSquared2 Milan Fashion Show Spring 2004,

Rock & Republic Rock & Republic is an American jeans brand founded by Michael Ball in 2002. Ball is a cyclist who gained design experience by creating his cycling team's uniforms. Rock & Republic's line of jeans and casual wear " VB Rocks" was designed by singer ...

, Studios John Sakalis Fall 2004 and Ellegirl presents Dare To Be You: Wal-Mart Meets America's Next Top Models 2005. Scelba-Shorte was also in a commercial for

restaurant in 2007 and was featured in the Kay's catalog for Holiday 2007. She can be found modeling Mandy Moore's Mblem line and landed her first beauty campaign for

Leeza Gibbons Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993–20 ...

' Sheer Cover Mineral Makeup. Scelba-Shorte was featured in the VisitCalifornia.com "Misconceptions" 2010 commercial alongside Jason Mraz, Kim Kardashian, Betty White, and the Jonas Brothers. Scelba-Shorte left Nous Model Management in Los Angeles in 2008. She then signed to Elite Model Management, L.A, and now is signed to Industry Model Group under the name of Mercedes Yvette.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scelba-Shorte, Mercedes African-American actresses African-American female models American female models African-American models American television actresses Female models from California People from New Jersey People from Greater Los Angeles 1981 births Living people People with lupus America's Next Top Model contestants California State University, Northridge alumni Top Model finalists Female models from New Jersey 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women