Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte American model and actress Date of Birth: 24.08.1981 Country: USA

1. Biography of Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte
2. Early Life and Education
3. Rise to Fame
4. Modeling and Acting Career

Biography of Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte

Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte, an American model and actress, gained recognition as a contestant and finalist on the second season of the reality show "America's Next Top Model," ultimately finishing in second place. Despite secretly battling an autoimmune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus during the filming, Scelba-Shorte's career in the modeling industry remained unharmed. She stands at 175 cm tall, with dark eyes and hair, and her measurements are 86.5-63.5-89 cm.

Early Life and Education

Mercedes Scelba-Shorte was born on August 24, 1981, in New Jersey, USA. Her mother, Mary Scelba, has Italian roots, while her father is of African-American descent. Her stepfather has Chinese ancestry. The family moved to Valencia, California, to protect Mercedes from the dangers she could face in the impoverished neighborhood of New Jersey. She attended California State University in Northridge until she auditioned for "America's Next Top Model."

Rise to Fame

Scelba-Shorte became one of the twelve finalists on the second season of "America's Next Top Model," which aired in 2004. In 2000, she also participated in the MTV reality show "Fear." After being diagnosed with lupus, she went through a challenging journey from denying her illness to becoming a national representative for the Lupus Foundation of America, following her appearance on "America's Next Top Model." She signed a contract with Nous Model Management and landed several small roles in television shows, including the sitcom "One on One," "All of Us," and the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful."

Modeling and Acting Career

In 2005, Scelba-Shorte graced the cover of "Wedding Dresses" magazine. She also appeared on the covers of "Lupus Now" and "Arthritis Today" in the fall of 2004 and 2007, respectively. Her photoshoot was featured in "Teen Vogue." She worked in advertising campaigns for various brands such as Chili's, Target, Hewlett Packard, Sears, AT&T, Payless Shoes, Bell South, Chevy, Anchor Blue, Kohl's, Old Navy, Walmart, Halston, Mervyn's, and Macy's.

Scelba-Shorte walked the runway for "DSquared2" during Milan Fashion Week in 2004 and for denim brand "Rock & Republic" and "Studios John Sakalis." In 2007, she participated in the "Kay" catalog shoot. She also appeared in commercials for "Leeza Gibbons' Sheer Cover Mineral Makeup" and "Mandy Moore's Mblem" clothing line.

In 2010, Scelba-Shorte starred alongside Kim Kardashian, Betty White, and the Jonas Brothers in an advertisement for the internet portal VisitCalifornia.com titled "Misconceptions." Currently, she is working on a television advertising project for Subway and will soon start shooting commercials for Verizon. In 2008, she left Nous Model Management in Los Angeles and signed a contract with Elite Model Management. She is also currently associated with Click Models, where she goes by the name Mercedes Yvette.