Toccara Elaine Jones (born March 13, 1981) is an American

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

, occasional

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

. Jones was a contestant on the third season of the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

series ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'', where she was the eighth eliminated.

Early life and education

Jones attended

Stivers School for the Arts Stivers School for the Arts is a magnet school in the Dayton Public Schools, Dayton City Schools in Dayton, Ohio, USA, in the St. Anne's Hill, Dayton, Ohio, St. Anne's Hill Historic District neighborhood. It is a public middle school, middle and h ...

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, where she majored in theatre and dance.

Career

Modeling

She is the twelfth finalist selected for Cycle 3, she won "Covergirl of the Week" four consecutive times though was never placed above fourth and was the eighth contestant eliminated. She was voted as one of the most memorable contestants by

AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...

Entertainment. Since ''ANTM'', Jones signed with

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, New York. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. Founded in 1967 by Wilhelmina C ...

as a

plus-size model A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in Model (person), modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either big, tall or overweight men ...

. She has been on the covers of ''Be, The Next Level Magazine'' (November 2005), ''Black Men'' magazine, ''Black Hair'' magazine, ''Braids'' magazine, and ''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'' magazine (February/March 2006, March/April 2006, and April 2008), Plus Model Magazine (October 2011). She appeared in the December 2008 issue of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' magazine. Toccara Jones e Ashanti

Jones has modeled for '' Ashley Stewart'', '' Avon'', '' Torrid'', ''New York and Company'', ''

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

'', ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' magazine, ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' magazine and '' Smooth'' magazine. Her runway shows include ''

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

's Third Annual Full Frontal

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Fashion Show'', ''Luxe & Romance Fall 2005'', ''

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 ...

Presents: Rip The Runway 2'', ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

presents Dare To Be You: Wal-Mart Meets America's Next Top Models'' 2005 and ''Alice & Olivia'' Fall 2006. Jones was also selected to be part of the 2007 ''

Rocawear Rocawear (stylized Roc-A-Wear) is an American clothing brand founded in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The brand has had annual sales of $700 million. Rocawear expanded through licensing to sell a ...

'' "I Will Not Lose" campaign representing the Rocawear plus-size line for full-figured females. Jones continues to model by participating in BET's Rip the Runway. At the 2009 Rip the Runway, which was held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Jones featured several items by designers including ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

'' Korto Momolu and Portege. She was photographed by

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in '' Vogue'' and '' Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, '' Sex''. He is ...

for the July "Black Issue" of ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine owned by Condé Nast International. In publication since 1964, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. The publication is currently edited by Francesca Ragazzi and ...

,'' the highest selling issue ever, and had a 14-page spread in the magazine. The "Black Issue" featured significant past and current black models in response to the "black out" of black models preventing them from getting hired for print and runway jobs. She was featured in Cycle 11 as

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

's Top Model in Action. As of May 2010, she has landed her first major UK modelling job with High Street store Evans, modelling their Summer collection.

Television

She has co-hosted an episode of ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''. She was a correspondent for '' The Black Carpet'' and a co-host on the game show '' Take the Cake,'' both for the

network. She occasionally appears on ''The Tyra Banks Show''. In one talent episode, she served as a judge. She also hosted ''America's Next Thick and Sexy Model'' on the show. She recently was one of the former ''Top Model'' girls who appeared in post show interviews in ''America's Next Top Model: Exposed''. In 2006, Jones appeared in another reality show for

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

, ''

Celebrity Paranormal Project ''Celebrity Paranormal Project'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''CPP'') is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 22 to December 17, 2006, on VH1. Except for a different title and use of celebrities, the ...

''. In 2008, Jones was a competitor on the second season of the

series ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed ...

''. During the show, she lost 32 lb (15 kg) to get down to . Jones wanted to weigh 180 lb (82 kg) because it was "good for her career." Jones gained back and appeared on '' Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp'', which pitted celebrities from past seasons up against new celebrities. She ended the show weighing in at 166 pounds, surpassing her weight-loss goal by 7 pounds. In 2011, Jones starred in the second season of the reality series ''

The Ultimate Merger ''Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger'' is an American reality television dating game show. A spin-off of '' The Apprentice'', the series premiered on TV One on June 17, 2010. The series' first season starred Omarosa, who in 2004 appe ...

''.

Acting

She made an appearance in

Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...

's music video for the song " I Got a Thang for You". She participated in a 2009 national tour of ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores ...

'' with an all-black cast. She also made an appearance in the 2012 movie

Think Like a Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book '' Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The f ...

Awards and honors

In 2008 Jones was honored by the

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city in Butler County, Ohio, Butler and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 50,987 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in sou ...

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

at the Freedom Fund Gala. She received a key to the city.

Filmography

*" Will I Ever" extra in

Lyfe Jennings Chester Jermaine "Lyfe" Jennings (born June 3, 1978) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and instrumentalist. He plays the guitar, Double bass, bass, and piano which he integrates into his music. T ...

' music video (2009) *" I Got a Thang for You" extra in

's music video (2008) *''

'' TV Series .... Herself (season 6, 2008) *''1st Annual Fiercee Awards (

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

)'' .... Herself (2008) *'' Take the Cake'' .... Host (2007) *''

'' (1 episode, 2006) *''

E! True Hollywood Story ''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E!. Overview ''E! True Hollywood Story'' originally started as a series of specials beginning on March 29, 1996, but evolved into a weekly biographical documentary ...

'' .... Herself (1 episode, 2006) *''

'' .... Herself (6 episodes, 2005–2006) *'' Girlfriends'' .... Waitress (1 episode, 2005) *''

All of Us ''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...

'' .... Marsha (1 episode, 2005) *''

'' .... Herself (Cycle 3, 2004 * Cycle 12, 2009 * Cycle 14, 2010) *'' Are We There Yet?'' ... (season 2, 2011) *''

Hotel California (Tyga Album) ''Hotel California'' is the third studio album by American rapper Tyga. It was released on April 9, 2013, by Cash Money Records, Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, The G ...

''.... Tyga (Hotel California 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Toccara 1981 births 21st-century American actresses Living people African-American female models African-American television personalities America's Next Top Model contestants American television actresses Female models from Ohio Hip-hop models Actresses from Dayton, Ohio Plus-size models 21st-century African-American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses