Toccara Elaine Jones (born March 13, 1982) is an American

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 ...

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

, occasional

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Jones was a contestant on the third season of the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

series ''

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 ...

'', where she was the eighth eliminated.

Biography

Jones attended

Stivers School for the Arts Stivers School for the Arts is a magnet school in the Dayton City Schools in Dayton, Ohio, USA, in the St. Anne's Hill Historic District neighborhood. It is a public middle and high school that focuses on education in the visual and performing a ...

in Dayton, where she majored in theatre and dance. Jones was honored by the

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metropo ...

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

at the Freedom Fund Gala. She received a key to the city.

Modeling career

She is the twelfth finalist selected for Cycle 3, she won "Covergirl of the Week" four consecutive times though was never placed above fourth and was the eighth contestant eliminated. She was voted as one of the most memorable contestants by

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

Entertainment. Since ''ANTM'', Jones signed with

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

as a

plus-size model A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in Model (person), modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either Big & Tall or Tall or Overw ...

. She has been on the covers of ''Be, The Next Level Magazine'' (November 2005), ''Black Men'' magazine, ''Black Hair'' magazine, ''Braids'' magazine, and ''

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'' magazine (February/March 2006, March/April 2006, and April 2008), Plus Model Magazine (October 2011). She appeared in the December 2008 issue of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

'' magazine. Toccara Jones e Ashanti

Jones has modeled for ''

Ashley Stewart Ashley Stewart is an American plus size women's clothing company and lifestyle brand, which was founded in 1991. The name Ashley Stewart was inspired by Laura Ashley and Martha Stewart, who the company saw as icons of upscale Americana. The Sec ...

'', '' Avon'', '' Torrid'', ''New York and Company'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' magazine, ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' magazine and ''

Smooth Smooth may refer to: Mathematics * Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology * Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions * Smooth algebraic ...

'' magazine. Her runway shows include ''

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

's Third Annual Full Frontal Hip hop Fashion Show'', ''Luxe & Romance Fall 2005'', ''

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Presents: Rip The Runway 2'', ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

presents Dare To Be You: Wal-Mart Meets America's Next Top Models'' 2005 and ''Alice & Olivia'' Fall 2006. Jones was also selected to be part of the 2007 ''

Rocawear Rocawear (Stylized Roc-A-Wear) is an American Clothing Brand founded in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records Co-Founders Damon Dash and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The brand has had annual sales of $700 million. Rocawear expanded through licensing to sell affo ...

'' "I Will Not Lose" campaign representing the Rocawear plus-size line for full-figured females. Jones continues to model by participating in BET's Rip the Runway. At the 2009 Rip the Runway, which was held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Jones featured several items by designers including ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

'' Korto Momolu and Portege. She was photographed by

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in ''Vogue'' and ''Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, ''Sex''. He is n ...

for the July "Black Issue" of ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''N ...

,'' the highest selling issue ever, and had a 14-page spread in the magazine. The "Black Issue" featured significant past and current black models in response to the "black out" of black models preventing them from getting hired for print and runway jobs. She was featured in Cycle 11 as

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics li ...

's Top Model in Action. As of May 2010, she has landed her first major UK modelling job with High Street store Evans, modelling their Summer collection.

Television career

She has co-hosted an episode of ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''. She was a correspondent for ''

The Black Carpet ''The Black Carpet'' is a show that aired on BET. It presented news and gossip about African-American celebrities. BET aired the show weekly after its original premiere on July 13, 2006, when it replaced '' BET Style''.Take the Cake ''Take the Cake'' is a live, interactive game show on BET. The one-hour program featured interactive games where the viewers could win cash prizes. The show aired from 12 midnight - 1 a.m. Eastern every Monday night through Friday night. The prog ...

,'' both for the

network. She occasionally appears on ''The Tyra Banks Show''. In one talent episode, she served as a judge. She also hosted ''America's Next Thick and Sexy Model'' on the show. She recently was one of the former ''Top Model'' girls who appeared in post show interviews in ''America's Next Top Model: Exposed''. In 2006, Jones appeared in another reality show for

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

, ''

Celebrity Paranormal Project ''Celebrity Paranormal Project'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''CPP'') is a paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 22 to December 17, 2006, on VH1. Except for a different title and use of celebrities, the VH1 show i ...

''. In 2008, Jones was a competitor on the second season of the

series ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

''. During the show, she lost 32 lb (15 kg) to get down to . Jones wanted to weigh 180 lb (82 kg) because it was "good for her career." Jones gained back and appeared on '' Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp'', which pitted celebrities from past seasons up against new celebrities. She ended the show weighing in at 166 pounds, surpassing her weight-loss goal by 7 pounds. Jones has released her own workout DVD called ''Toccara's Fabulous Work-Out for Real Size Women''. In 2011, Jones starred in the second season of the reality series ''

The Ultimate Merger ''Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger'' is an American reality television dating game show. A spin-off of ''The Apprentice'', the series premiered on TV One on June 17, 2010. The series' first season starred Omarosa, who in 2004 appear ...

''.

Acting

She made an appearance in

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

's music video for the song "

I Got a Thang for You "I Got a Thang for You" is the second single from Miami-based rapper Trina's fourth album ''Still da Baddest''. The song features American R&B singer Keyshia Cole. It was chosen after much speculation and talk about the second single. The song wa ...

". She participated in a 2009 national tour of ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'' with an all-black cast. She also made an appearance in the 2012 movie

Think Like a Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book ''Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The fil ...

Filmography

*" Will I Ever" extra in

Lyfe Jennings Chester Jermaine "Lyfe" Jennings (born June 3, 1978) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and instrumentalist. He plays the guitar, bass, and piano which he integrates into his music. The ''New York Times'' referre ...

' music video (2009) *"

" extra in

's music video (2008) *''

'' TV Series .... Herself (season 6, 2008) *''1st Annual Fiercee Awards (

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

)'' .... Herself (2008) *''

Take the Cake ''Take the Cake'' is a live, interactive game show on BET. The one-hour program featured interactive games where the viewers could win cash prizes. The show aired from 12 midnight - 1 a.m. Eastern every Monday night through Friday night. The prog ...

'' .... Host (2007) *''

'' (1 episode, 2006) *''

E! True Hollywood Story ''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E! that pulls back the curtain and highlights some of pop culture's most fascinating people, moments and trends. The series offers exclusive interviews with new insigh ...

'' .... Herself (1 episode, 2006) *''

'' .... Herself (6 episodes, 2005–2006) *'' Girlfriends'' .... Waitress (1 episode, 2005) *''

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 ...

'' .... Marsha (1 episode, 2005) *''

'' .... Herself (Cycle 3, 2004 * Cycle 12, 2009 * Cycle 14, 2010) *'' Are We There Yet?'' ... (season 2, 2011) *''

Hotel California (Tyga Album) ''Hotel California'' is the third studio album by American rapper Tyga. It was released on April 9, 2013, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records; distributed by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, 2 Ch ...

''.... Tyga (Hotel California 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Toccara 1981 births 21st-century American actresses Living people African-American female models African-American models African-American television personalities America's Next Top Model contestants American television actresses Female models from Ohio Hip hop models Actresses from Dayton, Ohio Plus-size models African-American actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women