Traci A. Bingham is an American actress, model, and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

. Beginning her professional career in the early 1990s, Bingham is best known for her role as Jordan Tate on the NBC action drama television series ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...

'' (1996–1998).

Biography

Early life and education

Bingham was the youngest of seven children born in

North Cambridge, Massachusetts North Cambridge, also known as "Area 11", is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts bounded by Porter Square and the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks on the south, the city of Somerville on the northeast, Alewife Brook and the town of Arlingto ...

, to Betty, a librarian, and Lafayette Bingham, an aircraft technician who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. For high school, Bingham attended

Cambridge Rindge and Latin School The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as CRLS or "Rindge," is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, the Rindge Technical ...

; graduating in 1986.

Career

Bingham began her career in minor acting roles. Aside from ''Baywatch'', Bingham's appearances include the television series ''D.R.E.A.M. Team'' and ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

'', and the film ''

Demon Knight ''Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight'' is a 1995 American horror comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett. Brenda Bakke, C. C. H. Pounder, Dick Miller and Thomas Haden Church co- ...

''. She also played minor roles in the popular American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

s ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

'' and '' Married... with Children''. In 1991, Bingham appeared in the video for "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record c ...

" by

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was an American hip-hop group formed in 1991 by Mark Wahlberg (alias Marky Mark), Scott Gee, Hector the Booty Inspector, DJ-T, and Ashey Ace. The group's best known song is "Good Vibrations", which made it to number ...

. Eight years later, she appeared in the video for "

I Really Like It "I Really Like It" is the lead single from rap group Harlem World's debut album, ''The Movement''. It featured the groups mentor Mase and R&B singer, Kelly Price and was produced by Mase, Supa Sam and Just Blaze. the track contains a sample of "Po ...

" by

Harlem World ''Harlem World'' is the debut album by American hip hop recording artist Mase, released on October 28, 1997, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album was nominated at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It went on to sell 4.8 ...

featuring

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

and

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboa ...

. In June 1998, Bingham posed for a "Babes of ''Baywatch''" pictorial in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine. Bingham has appeared on a number of reality television programs. In 2004, she was in the second series of ''

The Surreal Life ''The Surreal Life'' is an American reality television series that records a group of celebrities as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks. The format of the show resembles that of ''The Real W ...

''. Her castmates included

Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list. Jeremy has also made a number of non-pornographic ...

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

Erik Estrada Henry Enrique Estrada (born March 16, 1949) is an American actor and police officer. He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series ...

Tammy Faye Bakker Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...

, and

Trishelle Cannatella Trishelle Cannatella (born November 4, 1979) is an American reality television contestant, ''Playboy'' model, and actress, known for her appearances on the MTV reality television series '' The Real World: Las Vegas'', and the ''Real World'' spino ...

. Two years later, she flew to England to appear in ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'', where she made it to the final six contestants and was evicted on the final night of the show. She selected Families of SMA as the charity to receive a donation from her participation in the show because her niece had died from

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common genetic ...

(SMA). In 2005, Bingham was hired as a

spokesmodel A promotional model is a model hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. Most promotional models are conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to m ...

by Empire Poker, an

online gambling Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in ...

site that ceased operations in 2006.In 2007, Bingham appeared on VH1's '' The Surreal Life: Fame Games'' and won the $100,000 grand prize. In 2008, Bingham appeared on Fox Reality's ''Gimme My Reality Show!'' competing with six other celebrities to get their own reality show. Bingham appeared on ''The 2008 World Magic Awards'' television show.

Activism

In May 2002, Bingham appeared in an advertisement wearing a bikini made of lettuce, and in May 2006 she appeared nude in an ad as part of PETA's "I'd Rather Be Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign.

Personal life

Bingham has been married once and has no children. From August 29, 1998 until January 18, 2001, Bingham was married to songwriter and musician Robb Vallier. In 2014, A Massachusetts court issued an arrest warrant for Bingham after she failed to appear in court regarding a breached XXX adult contract. After taking the money, Bingham did not show up for the production.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
"Traci Bingham's Sexy Ad Reveal"
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals),

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. November 4, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Traci Living people Actresses from Cambridge, Massachusetts Actresses from Massachusetts American film actresses African-American actresses American television actresses Reality show winners 20th-century American actresses Articles containing video clips Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni Native American people from Massachusetts 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women Year of birth missing (living people)