Don Benjamin

Background

Don Benjamin was born on May 5, 1987, in Chicago, Illinois to an African-American father and Irish-American mother. During his childhood, he spent a lot of time in Chicago before he moved around America and finally settled down in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Accounts have stated that Benjamin attended Brooklyn Center High School.

Years later, Benjamin would start his modeling career when he moved to Los Angeles, California (2005). He appeared in many campaigns as well as worked for many big brands. Sure enough, Benjamin started getting recognition as a male model. He finally had his big break when he was featured in the 20th season of the world-famous reality show “America’s Next Top Model” (2013). Benjamin gained a lot more attention, skyrocketing his popularity. Even though he received positive critiques, he was eventually eliminated in episode 11 of the show. Upon leaving the show, Benjamin signed with a modeling agency called Wilhelmina Models where he started working with various brands including Guess, Tilly’s, Pink Dolphin, True Religion, and many more. Benjamin would continue his career in reality television by participating in “Scare Famous,” a show where he would live in a haunted house and win challenges to win a grand prize of up to $100,000 (2017). Surprisingly, Benjamin won the show and donated the money to Peace Over Violence charity to raise awareness of sexual violence. Benjamin also ventured into music, establishing himself as an artist. He started releasing singles such as ‘Across the Sky’ and ‘Real’ which would kickstart his career as an artist (2012). He released an E.P. named “M.P.L.S” without the help of a music label (2018). He also wrote two books including “My Truth” (2020) and “My Time Is Now: 31 Daily Affirmations to Fast Track a Life of Abundance” (2021). Currently, he is actively uploading content to various social media channels including his Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube channel.

In terms of romantic relationships, Benjamin started dating model and social media personality Liane Valenzuela in 2015. The couple would get married in 2019. They went through a brief split in 2020 but would eventually renew their vow, confirming that they are still together.