Jay Manuel Biography
Jay Manuel is a TV host, Creative Director, make-up artist, and author from Canada. For the first eighteen seasons of the popular reality television show America’s Next Top Model, he was the Creative Director. Manuel was also the host of Canada’s Next Top Model.
How old is Jay Manuel? – Age
He is 50 years old as of 14 August 2022. He was born in 1972 in Springfield, Illinois, United States.
Jay Manuel Family – Education
Manuel was born in South Africa to an Italian and Czech mother and a South African father of mixed Cape Malay ancestry. He was raised in Toronto by adoptive parents and attended Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute and York University. Manuel was a pre-med student who also studied opera before entering the fashion industry.
Jay Manuel Partner
Jay is out and proudly gay. Despite being somewhat private about his romantic life, he is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights. He made a “It Gets Better” video in 2011 to empower LGBTQ youth.
Jay Manuel Book
He published his first book, The Wig, The Bitch, and The Meltdown, in 2020.
Jay Manuel Collections
Attitude Jay Manuel, a women’s clothing line for Sears Canada, debuted in 2011. Manuel’s beauty line was launched in 2015 with the help of supermodel-turned-entrepreneur Iman, and is distributed through her company Impala Inc. According to an Essence magazine interview, Manuel and Iman first met in the 1990s when he was recommended to do Iman’s makeup for a cover shoot.
Jay Manuel Beauty debuted in 2014, with a collection of products aimed at creating a high-definition finish for the younger generation. Manuel has stated in numerous interviews that he wanted to introduce products that provided an Instagram filter finish without the use of a filter. Jay Manuel Beauty debuted on HSN in March 2015. It was announced in July 2016 that the beauty line would debut on the UK’s QVC shopping channel in September of that year.
Jay Manuel Makeup
He has spent seven years in “the business of managing to aesthetic.” He has done makeup and styling for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Victoria’s Secret, Revlon, and CoverGirl, among others. Manuel has also collaborated with renowned fashion photographers Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, and Francesco Scavullo. Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Iman, Alicia Silverstone, Rebecca Romijn, Rupert Everett, Bridget Moynahan, Angela Bassett, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ma, Kim Cattrall, Natalie Cole, Toni Braxton, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Rosario Dawson, Pink, David Bowie, and Jennifer Lopez are among his clients.
Jay Manuel Top Model
Manuel was the Creative Director on the first season of America’s Next Top Model in 2003. Manuel appeared on every cycle of the show for nine years, during which time it became one of the most popular shows in the United States. Nigel Barker and J. Alexander did not return for the 19th cycle after 18 seasons on the show because their contracts were not renewed. Manuel decided to leave the show after the announcement. Tyra Banks’ controversial move sparked a media frenzy surrounding Manuel and the show. The drastic personnel change did not work, and the show was cancelled three years later before being renewed on VH1 on December 12, 2016.
Manuel hosted and judged the second and third seasons of Canada’s Next Top Model, a spin-off of ANTM. He also appeared as a cameo in Degrassi Takes Manhattan and as himself in an episode of the comedy-drama television series Being Erica.
Jay Manuel Retail
Manuel announced in 2017 that he was entering the retail sector with a variety of beauty stores. The announcement was made alongside an exclusive partnership with Simon and its shopping centers. In an interview, Manuel stated that they planned to open their first physical location at Roosevelt Field Mall.
Instead of going the traditional makeup route of partnering with a department store or a well-known retailer such as Sephora, Jay Manuel Beauty would open physical stores. The “Jay Manuel Beauty Retail Experience” would be their name. This was the first time the brand was sold in a physical store. Previously, all Jay Manuel Beauty products were only available through the Home Shopping Network and QVC.
The first Simon-based location opened on November 16, Garden City, NY, with more to follow in 2018. According to Women’s Wear Daily, the success of the brand could result in $1 million in revenue from the store’s first year. The idea behind each of the stores was to improve the shopper’s experience. This would be accomplished through a variety of methods, including technology-driven initiatives to improve customer experience.