Barbizon Modeling and Acting School is an international modeling and

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

school headquartered in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. The school provides instructional courses in the domain of modeling and personal development.

History

The first Barbizon School of Modeling and Acting was opened in 1939 on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, by Helen Fraser, a fashion model and teacher with her husband, Dr. Fraser, a dentist. The Barbizon name was developed from the Fraser's vacations to France where they became interested in the town of

Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is n ...

, a village outside of Paris known for the 19th-century Barbizon school of painters. She wrote a book ''Assignment in Modeling: A Guide to a Career in Fashion and Photographic Modeling. In 1950, Helen met

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, who would later become

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, and awarded him with the Best-Dressed Man in America award she established. In 1951, Helen acted as a celebrity judge for the Miss Brooklyn Pageant, alongside actress Denise Darcel and comedian

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

Locations

Barbizon Modeling and Acting Centers are located in more than 200 markets across the United States. International locations include Bangkok, Toronto, Santo Domingo and Japan.

Student Notebook

Barbizon School of Modeling and Acting has a student notebook, signed by the National Director.

College scholarship

In 1992, Barbizon initiated a college

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

program, paying up to $100,000 of tuition to scholarship recipients for any college or university in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Notable alumni

* Nicole Gale Anderson *

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer and songwriter. At the age of ten, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years ol ...

(''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' contestant) * Moisés Arias * Drew Tyler Bell * Haley Bennett * Caressa Cameron – (

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2010) *

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

(thanked Barbizon in her

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) *

Sean Faris Sean Faris (born March 25, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Tyler in '' Never Back Down'', Kyo Kusanagi in ''The King of Fighters'', and Rick Penning in '' Forever Strong''. He also played Tom in '' Ghost Machine''. ...

* Lyndsy Fonseca * Julie Henderson (model) * June Kirby - actress and model * Karen Montell - politician and model * Gena Lee Nolin – named Miss Barbizon *

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

– former U.S. Secretary of State; referenced Barbizon in her autobiography as one of her early stepping stones * Zach Roerig *

Sofia Vassilieva Sofia Vladimirovna Vassilieva (born October 22, 1992) is an American actress. Notable roles include portraying the children's book character Eloise (books), Eloise in ''Eloise at the Plaza'' and ''Eloise at Christmastime'', Ariel DuBois in the ...

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe ( ; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas (One Life to Live), Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1992–1993) and making his feature film debut in ''Crimson Tide ...

Giuliana Rancic Giuliana Rancic (; ; born August 17, 1974) is an Italian-born American Entertainment journalism, entertainment reporter and television personality. She is a co-anchor of ''E! News'' and resides in Chicago and Los Angeles. Early life Rancic was bo ...

(entertainment journalist) * Audrey Marie Anderson * Tera Patrick (pornographic actress and model)

References