Alexander Jenkins (born April 12, 1958), known as J. Alexander or Miss J, is an American reality television personality and runway coach best known for his work on ''

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 ...

''.Staff report (February 28, 2007)
Tyra, 'Top Model' back.
''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' He travels extensively for the

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and

modeling A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

industries. Alexander lives in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Early life

Alexander was born in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

, New York City to Julius and Mary Jenkins and cites his mother as the first person to introduce him to fashion. As a teenager, he turned to modeling when he met the president of

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

, Monique Pillard. Pillard was so impressed with his look that she signed him to her agency, and he walked for designer

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...

in New York City. Alexander is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. Alexander met

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

backstage at a runway show, and he began to give Banks walking lessons. Banks coined Alexander's title "Queen of the Catwalk".

Career

Alexander's career as a runway coach began accidentally; he would coach models backstage and eventually became recognized for his skills as a coach. He has been coaching and casting since 1991. He rose to prominence in this field when he coached

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

and model

Kimora Lee Simmons Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins) is an American model, business woman, fashion designer, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, TV personality, philanthropist and author. Early life Kimora Lee Perkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Stephen M. ...

. He has also worked with models

Nadja Auermann Nadja Auermann (born 19 March 1971) is a German supermodel and actress. Fashion designer Valentino once commented on her physical resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. A New York Times fashion columnist, Guy Trebay, wrote of her "ice maiden visage a ...

Claudia Mason Claudia Mason (born March 9, 1973) is an American model and actress. Mason has been featured on the covers of many fashion magazines including Vogue, Elle, W and Cosmopolitan. Mason has appeared in fashion campaigns for the likes of Louis Vuitt ...

and

Julia Stegner Julia Stegner (born 2 November 1984 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany) is a German model. Early life Stegner, the daughter of Günter Stegner, the Director Central and Eastern Europe for LSI Corporation, and Erika Stegner, an accountant, was rai ...

.Cathy Horyn, "It Was No Walk in the Park", ''The New York Times'', November 11, 2009. After a modeling stint in Tokyo, he eventually decided to settle in Paris and since 1991, has helped with casting and coaching models for well-known designers such as Hervé Léger, Lars Nilsson,

Bill Blass William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Early ...

, Valentino,

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

, and Nina Ricci. Alexander travels globally for charity events and modeling competitions. His expertise is frequently sought after by journalists.

''America's Next Top Model''

Alexander appeared on every cycle of the

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

'' as the runway coach to the contestants. He was made a judge starting with Cycle 5. As of Cycle 14 of the show, Alexander was replaced as a permanent judge on the panel by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' editor at large

André Leon Talley André Leon Talley (October 16, 1948 – January 18, 2022) was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, and editor-at-large of ''Vogue'' magazine. He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its first Africa ...

. Alexander stayed on as the show's runway coach and has appeared in many of the international versions of the show. Alexander's

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Miss J" (or "Siss' J" after the word ''sister'') came from Cycle 1 contestant Robin Manning, who often confused Alexander and

Jay Manuel Jay Manuel (born August 14, 1972) is a Canadian TV host, Creative Director, make-up artist, and author. He is most recognizable as the Creative Director on the popular reality television show ''America's Next Top Model'' for the first eighteen sea ...

and on several occasions referred to Alexander as "Miss J" by accident because of his flamboyant clothing (Alexander often dresses in drag and usually wears a skirt and high heels during runway walking training) and personality. Accordingly, Jay Manuel is referred to as "Mr. Jay", and ''ANTM'' contestants often call them "The Jays", "The Two Jays" or "Mr. and Miss. Jay" when they appear together.Denise Martin, ''A new platform for 'Top Model' pair'", ''The Los Angeles Times'', November 21, 2008. In 2008, the Jays were cast in ''Operation Fabulous'', a show to make over "plain Janes" similar to ''

Queer Eye For The Straight Guy ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the cable television network Bravo in July 2003. Originally ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'', the title was later shortened to broaden the overall scope. The series was cre ...

'', also produced by

. He has also appeared on international versions of ''

Top Model ''Top Model,'' also called ''Next Top Model,'' is a fashion-themed reality television show format produced in many countries throughout the world and seen in over 120 countries producing over 200 seasons, which are referred to as "cycles". T ...

'', such as ''

Canada's Next Top Model ''Canada's Next Top Model'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''CNTM'') is a Canadian reality show in which female contestants compete for the title "Canada's Next Top Model" and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry. The winner recei ...

'', ''

Holland's Next Top Model ''Holland's Next Top Model'' (often abbreviated as HNTM and previously subtitled ''Modelmasters: Holland's Next Top Model'' from 2006 to 2007, signifying the show's partnership with the agency) is a Dutch reality television series, produced by ...

'', '' Korea's Next Top Model'', '' Estonia's Next Top Model'' and '' Scandinavia's Next Top Model''. Alexander appeared on the 4 May 2008 episode of Finland's version of ''ANTM'' '' Suomen huippumalli haussa''. In 2009 and the 2011 final, Alexander appeared on ''

Britain's Next Top Model ''Britain's Next Top Model'' (or ''Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model'' 2011–13), often abbreviated as ''BNTM'', ''BINTM'', or ''Top Model'', is a British-Irish reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of ''Bri ...

''. On April 20, 2012, Alexander's contract with ''America's Next Top Model'' expired alongside photographer turned director Nigel Barker and Jay Manuel. In May 2020, Alexander and Manuel began a weekly

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Live series, later syndicated to

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

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 ...

, based on their experiences working on the show.

Designer

Alexander is also interested in designing and has handmade all his clothes on ''America’s Next Top Model'' with the exception of the nurse’s outfit: "I did make the hat and the bag." "All the dresses that you see me wear at the challenges, I actually sit down with a needle and thread, not even with a sewing machine, and make them all by hand. I made the ruffles and everything."

Personal life

Alexander has stated on ''

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 ...

'' that he has a son named Boris. Both Alexander and his ex-boyfriend donated sperm to a French lesbian who wanted a child, and Alexander's ex is the biological father. Alexander has said that he has a "very active role" in Boris' life. He has even joked that his "fashion genes" must have rubbed off on Boris. In 2010, Alexander wrote ''Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power'', which "shares his story and offers tips on how to be more confident".Michela Hood, "Miss J. Alexander shares his contagious confidence", ''The Miami Herald '', February 22, 2010. Alexander was featured in the track ''Jay Walk(feat. Miss Jay Alexander)'' on Leikeli47's album ''Shape Up'' (2022).

Awards and nominations

Publications

* ''Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power'' (Simon & Schuster, 2010), 1439150516, 9781439150511.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, J. 1958 births American expatriates in France African-American male models African-American models American male models LGBT African Americans Male models from New York (state) Living people Gay models Participants in Canadian reality television series Entertainers from the Bronx LGBT people from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Judges in American reality television series