Ashley Marie "AzMarie" Livingston (born December 28, 1986) is an American fashion model, actress, singer and DJ who rose to fame after appearing on '' America's Next Top Model: British Invasion'' in 2012. Livingston was cast to play the role of Chicken on the Fox show ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

''.

Early life

Livingston was born Ashley Marie Livingston in California's

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. According to Livingston, the name "AzMarie" is an

amalgam Amalgam most commonly refers to: * Amalgam (chemistry), mercury alloy * Amalgam (dentistry), material of silver tooth fillings ** Bonded amalgam, used in dentistry Amalgam may also refer to: * Amalgam Comics, a publisher * Amalgam Digital, an in ...

of her first and middle names, and she took the "Az". Livingston was raised primarily by her

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

. Her father is gay, and Livingston describes the relationship between her parents as them being "best friends". She came out to him first as a lesbian, with her father being immediately accepting because of his own orientation; her mother taking more time, with initial disappointment. Now her mother is a strong supporter of her career. Livingston says she was bullied growing up over her

androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to Sex, biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it oft ...

. As a child, she moved to the

area, where she later attended

Nicolet High School Nicolet High School is a public secondary school located in Glendale, Wisconsin. It is the only school in the Nicolet Unified School District, which serves Glendale, Fox Point, Bayside, and River Hills. Primary schooling is administered by t ...

. At age 9, Livingston became interested in modeling after traveling with her father on vacation to Los Angeles, California, but according to Livingston, "I took a break when I was younger because it didn't pick up as much. I wanted to have a childhood." After graduating high school, Livingston attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater before dropping out after three semesters and moving to Los Angeles to further her career. She is primarily of African-American ancestry, but also partial German and Indian descent.

Career

Modeling

Livingston began her career as a runway model in Los Angeles and New York City. From 2009 to 2011, she appeared in various magazines and participated in several fashion shows, including

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

and

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's Rip the Runway.

''America's Next Top Model''

In 2012, Livingston first came into the public eye as a participant in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

program '' America's Next Top Model: British Invasion''. She was noted for her tattoos and

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...

look. Despite her initial strength in the competition, including two first callouts, Livingston was eliminated in the sixth episode. She became the sixth eliminated overall in her first-ever bottom two appearance which Kyle Gober survived.

Acting

Livingston portrayed Hakeem's best friend Chicken on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's ''

''. In 2009, Livingston appeared in the award-winning film '' Precious''. In 2010, she went on to appear on the television shows ''

The Real Housewives of New York City ''The Real Housewives of New York City'', abbreviated ''RHONY'', is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 4, 2008. Developed as the second installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fifteen s ...

'' and '' The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty''. After her stint on

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 (referred to as "cycles"). The show t ...

, Livingston acquired a role on the gay television series, DTLA, which airs on

OUTtv OUTtv is a Canadian English language specialty channel and streaming network that was launched in September 2001. The brand focuses on general entertainment and lifestyle programming serving Canadian and international LGBT+ communities. The ...

and

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

. Working alongside actresses

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...

and

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is also well kn ...

, Livingston plays the role of Ricki, who is Griffith's girlfriend on the show. Of her

breakthrough role A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the theatre, film and television industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of crit ...

, Livingston says, "Being a rookie with all-stars made me a little nervous, but I don't think I showed it." Livingston starred in a leading role in the romantic comedy ''Almost Amazing'' by director Justin Price ('' The Cloth'').

Music

Livingston started out as an extra in several music videos prior to her solo career as well as before competing on America's Next Top Model, including

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

's "

Motivation Motivation is an mental state, internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particul ...

" and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

's "

Moment 4 Life "Moment 4 Life" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj, featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on December 7, 2010 by Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Motown as the fourth single from Minaj's debut studio album, ''Pink Friday'' (2010). ...

". Her debut single "Morning Guarantee" was released in December 2012. On August 31, 2014, Livingston released her debut EP on SoundCloud titled ''HipPopMelodicPoetry''. Her single "We Hot" was released in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Extended plays

* ''HipPopMelodicPoetry'' (2014)

Singles

* 2012: ''Morning Guarantee'' * 2015: ''We Hot''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, AzMarie 1986 births Living people 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California Actresses from Louisiana Actresses from Milwaukee African-American female models America's Next Top Model contestants American film actresses American people of German descent American people of Indian descent American television actresses American lesbian actresses American lesbian musicians American LGBTQ models Lesbian models African-American LGBTQ people Female models from California LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from Louisiana LGBTQ people from Wisconsin Musicians from Louisiana Musicians from Wisconsin Midwest hip-hop musicians Singers from California University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Androgynous people