Melyssa Savannah Ford (born November 7, 1976) is a Canadian media personality, actress, and former

video vixen A video vixen (also referred to as a hip hop honey or video girl) is a woman who models and appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. The concept peaked in popularity from the 1990s to the early 2010s. Story, Kaila A. "Performing Venus-From Hot ...

. Since 2022, she has co-hosted '' The Joe Budden Podcast'' alongside broadcaster and former rapper

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American broadcaster and former rapper. He first gained recognition with his 2003 single " Pump It Up", which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and preceded the release of h ...

Early life

Melyssa Savannah Ford was born on November 7, 1976, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. Ford is mixed race, with her father having roots in Barbados, and her mother having Norwegian and Russian ancestry. She attended

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, majoring in the field of

forensic psychology Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods (in relation to psychology) to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes ...

Career

In 1997, music video director

Little X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

discovered Ford, who was 20, while she was working as a bartender at a Toronto nightclub and helped launch her modelling career. She has appeared in

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

men's magazines This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are Magazine, magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of Man, men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the t ...

, television programs and films. Ford was an on-air personality for

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

's Hot Jamz channel. She formerly sold a line of calendars and a DVD. In a 2008

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

interview, Ford explained that when making music videos she often asked herself whether she was "perpetuating a negative stereotype" about black women. When she was asked whether music videos, overall, are "demeaning to women", Ford replied, "Yes, I definitely have to say that". From June 2014 to January 2015, Ford participated in the Bravo Network television series '' Blood, Sweat & Heels'', documenting her social life against the background of her struggles of becoming a realtor in New York. In 2016, Ford became a co-host of ''Hollywood Unlocked'', a Los Angeles-based hip-hop and pop culture radio show. Ford returned to the show in April 2019 following her car accident in June 2018. In November 2019, Ford launched a podcast on YouTube called ''I'm Here for the Food''. The podcast featured a host of guests and covered a range of topics, including colourism, human trafficking, and forgiveness. The podcast last aired in November 2020. On August 24, 2020, Ford announced she would no longer be co-hosting ''Hollywood Unlocked''. After several years in Los Angeles, Ford moved back to the

New York Metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

in 2022, becoming a co-host on '' The Joe Budden Podcast''. On November 1, 2024, Ford premiered a new podcast called ''Hot and Bothered with Melyssa Ford'' focused on wellness and lifestyle practices for women over 40. In 2025, Ford was mentioned in the song ' Gimme a Hug' by

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, featured on his album ''

Some Sexy Songs 4 U ''Some Sexy Songs 4 U'' (stylized as ''$ome $exy $ongs 4 U'' or shortened to ''$$$4U'') is a collaborative album by Canadian singers PartyNextDoor and Drake. It was released on February 14, 2025, by OVO Sound, Santa Anna, and Republic Records. T ...

''.

Personal life

In June 2018, Ford was seriously injured in a car crash involving an 18-wheeler truck. She suffered a skull fracture and concussion.

Filmography

Film

Television

Documentary

Music videos

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Melyssa 1976 births Living people Actresses from Toronto Black Canadian actresses Canadian advice columnists Female models from Ontario Canadian infotainers Canadian people of Barbadian descent Canadian people of Russian descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian television personalities Canadian women journalists Hip-hop models Canadian women columnists York University alumni Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women television personalities Participants in American reality television series