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Karamo Brown

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Karamo Brown
Brown in 2019
Born
Karamo Karega Brown

(1980-11-02) November 2, 1980 (age 44)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
EducationFlorida A&M University (BA)
Occupation(s)TV personality, activist
Partner(s)Ian Jordan (2010–2020)
Carlos Medel (2021–present)
Children2
Websitehttps://karamoshow.com/

Karamo Karega Brown (born November 2, 1980)[1] is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist.[2] Brown began his career in 2004 on the MTV reality show The Real World: Philadelphia.[3] He currently stars as the culture expert in the Netflix series Queer Eye.[4]

In September 2022, Brown began hosting an eponymous talk show titled Karamo for NBCUniversal.[5]

Personal life

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Brown was born in Houston and has three older sisters.[6] He is of Jamaican and Cuban descent. He came out as gay at age 15.[7] Brown grew up in Coral Springs, Florida and graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 1999.[8][9] He graduated from Florida A&M University, a historically black university, and has worked in social services.[10]

In 2007, Brown was notified that he was the father of a ten-year-old boy, Jason, and received custody of him that year. Brown adopted Jason's half-brother Chris in 2010 and moved to Los Angeles with his two sons in 2011, where they currently reside.[11] In May 2018, Brown became engaged to director Ian Jordan.[12] They split amicably around June 2020. On May 15, 2021 Karamo began dating photographer Carlos Medel.[13][14]

Career

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Karamo was most known for his television debut on the MTV reality series The Real World: Philadelphia in 2004.[3] He later competed in the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, where he was eliminated in episode six.

Brown made a return to reality television on TV One's The Next 15 in 2016, which followed him and five other reality stars.[15] Brown was a contributing host on HLN's Dr. Drew On Call, YouTube's The Young Turks,[11] served as host and producer of HuffPost Live for Huffington Post and as a recurring guest host of Access Hollywood Live. In 2014, Brown became a host and segment producer for the Own Show.[16]

Brown hosted MTV's Are You the One? Second Chances.[17] Brown is the culture expert in the Netflix revival of Queer Eye. The first season was released on Netflix in February 2018.[4]

Brown published a memoir in March 2019 titled Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope.[18] In June 2019, Brown appeared in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video.[19]

In 2019 Brown competed on the 28th season of celebrity dance competition Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Jenna Johnson. Brown and Johnson were the fourth couple eliminated. Brown publicly defended his fellow contestant, former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who was seen as a divisive and controversial choice for the show.[20] Brown called Spicer "a good guy" and "a friend," and said that he "was proud of him," but also said he did not appreciate Spicer serving as a mouthpiece for many lies in service of Trump.[21] Brown was criticized by many, including author Roxane Gay for normalizing Spicer and his work in the White House.[22] Brown's trailer at DWTS shared a wall with Spicer's; Brown intentionally had transgender friends over, and invited Spicer to socialize.[21] Brown spoke to Spicer about how the actions and policies against LGBTQ rights affect marginalized people.[21] Brown explained he felt he could connect with Spicer as "he has the capacity to find out where others are coming from and to help them become more open-minded and educated."[23][24]

Starting in 2018, Brown shared some of his best advice about promoting self-esteem to students at multiple universities.[25][26][27][28]

In November 2019, Brown published a children's book, I Am Perfectly Designed, written with his son Jason "Rachel" Brown, illustrated by Anoosha Syed, and published by Henry Holt and Company.[29] Jason said that the title of the book is a phrase Brown often said to Jason growing up.[30]

In 2020, Karamo Brown teamed up with Honest Company alumni to create MANTL, a premium personal care brand for bald and or balding men.[31]

In 2020, Brown was named to the Ebony Power 100 List.[32]

He judged an episode of Is It Cake?, which premiered on Netflix in March 2022.[33]

Brown guest-hosted several episodes of Maury in the 2021–22 season. In March 2022, Brown was announced as host Maury Povich's successor; Povich retired and Brown hosted a new talk show for NBCUniversal Television Distribution, with Karamo starting recording in August and premiering September 19.[34][35]

Activism

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In 2014, Brown partnered with the pharmaceutical company Janssen as part of the Positively Fearless campaign to empower the gay and bisexual community.[36]

In 2015, Brown co-founded 6in10.org, an organization that works to combat HIV stigma and provides mental health support and HIV education to the black LGBT community.[17] Karamo volunteers as a youth counselor at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.[11] Brown has also partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Black Justice Coalition as their health and wellness ambassador.[15] It was primarily focused on the Black LGBTQ community due to the fact that Brown felt as if that community specifically got overlooked most of the time. Their mission was to eradicate the 6-in-10 HIV statistic plaguing gay and bisexual Black men by providing tailored mental health support.[37]

He was invited by the Obama Administration to work with the White House to create policies and legislations that helped with supporting the aspiring LGBTQ youth and their community along with their allies after school hours. He worked directly with President Barack Obama to support the president Obama Foundation and the My Brother's Keeper Alliance.[38]

In April 2018, he joined Creative Coalition members in traveling to Capitol Hill to petition legislators and the office of Second Lady Karen Pence for increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.[39] He is also a national co-chair for Health Care Voter.[40] Brown's activism does not remain local; he travels around the country to speak and host focus groups with HIV organizations, churches, and schools to address the issues the LGBTQ community is facing.[41]

Awards and honors

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Nomination

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Filmography

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Television and web

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Year Title Role Notes
2004–2005 The Real World: Philadelphia 26 episodes
2005 Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II 6 episodes
2007 The DL Chronicles Agent #1 Episode: "Robert"
2012–2013 Bethenny Himself Panelist/Correspondent, 4 episodes
2013–2014 Where the Bears Are! Ronnie Bishop/Reporter 7 episodes
2014–2016 Dr. Drew on Call Himself Host/Correspondent/Panelist, 54 episodes
2015 Huffpost Live Host, 8 episodes
Steam Room Stories Karamo 4 episodes
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood Himself Episode: "Out in Hip Hop"
2016 Access Hollywood Live Host; 7 episodes
2016 The Next :15 7 episodes
2016 The Unexplained
2017 Are You the One: Second Chances Host, 10 episodes
2018 The Real Princess Diaries: From Diana to Meghan TV movie documentary
2018–present Queer Eye Main cast
2018 Nailed It! Episode: "Bonus: 3, 2, 1, Ya Not Done!!"
GMA Digital "Take it from Karamo Brown: Own who you are"
ELLE "Queer Eye's Karamo Brown Insta-Stalks the Fab Five"
2019 Lip Sync Battle Season 5, Episode 1
Dancing with the Stars Season 28 contestant
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah "The Popularity of Queer Eye & Embracing Growth in Karamo"
MTV "Karamo Brown Reacts to The Real World: Philadelphia"
Yahoo Lifestyle "It was love at first sight for Queer Eye star Karamo Brown"
Good Morning America "Karamo Brown motivates and inspires with his new memoir"
Broadly "Queer Eye's Karamo Brown Gives Sex Advice: Broadly Hotline"
Big Mouth Voice role, Season 3 Episode "Disclousure: The Movie: The Musical!"
The Wendy Williams Show[44] Himself "Karamo on Fatherhood"
2020 Miss Americana
The Thing About Harry Paul Freeform original film
Raven's Home Miguel Harris "Slammed"
Selling Sunset Himself
2021 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 2 episodes
Miracle Workers Patriotic Man Season 3, Episode 6: "Independence Rock"
2022 Is It Cake? Judge Netflix
2022–present Karamo Himself Talk show host

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Princess Diaries School Drummer Film
2014 Lean Karamo Short film
2018 Visible: The LGBTQ Caribbean Diaspora Himself

References

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  1. ^ Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Lanham, MA: Rowman and Littlefield. 2019. p. 541. ISBN 9781641433167.
  2. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Anderson-Minshall, Jacob (July 24, 2017). "How Did Karamo Brown find his way back to Hollywood?". Plus. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Hall, Gerrad (December 8, 2017). "Meet the new Queer Eye Fab 5 in this first look". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "'Queer Eye' star Karamo Brown debuts new talk show". CNN. September 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Martens, Joel (October 13, 2014). "Karamo Brown- OWNing your life". Rage Monthly. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "To Gay or Not Too Gay". Queer Eye. Season 1. Episode 4. February 7, 2018. Netflix.
  8. ^ Epstein, Rachel (April 3, 2018). "Karamo Brown Is More Than Just a Culture Expert". Marie Claire. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Wright, John (April 2, 2018). "Houston Native, Marjory Stoneman Grad and 'Queer Eye' Star Karamo Brown Headlines HRC Gala". OutSmart.
  10. ^ Pardee, Lauren. "'Queer Eye' Star Karamo Brown Opens Up About Discovering He Had a 10-Year-Old Son".
  11. ^ a b c Reynolds, Daniel (January 29, 2015). "A Gay Real World Star's Unexpected Journey to Fatherhood". The Advocate. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Falcone, Dana Rose (May 9, 2018). "Queer Eye's Karamo Brown Is Engaged to Director Ian Jordan". People. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ^ The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Season 17, Episode 199, 9/25-2020. Karamo interview by Stephen "Twitch" Boss
  14. ^ Corinthios, Aurelie (September 25, 2020). "Queer Eye's Karamo Brown Reveals He Split from Fiancé Ian Jordan 3 Months Ago: 'It Was Hard'". People. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Smith, Rob (February 10, 2016). "'The Next 15' Star Karamo Brown Talks Being A Gay Dad, Reality TV Drama, and 'Crazy-Ass' New York". Queerty. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Pardee, Lauren (2018). "'Queer Eye' Star Karamo Brown Opens Up About Discovering He Had a 10-Year-Old Son". Parents. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Scott, Sydney (March 30, 2017). "Karamo Brown Has Come A Long Way Since 'The Real World' And There's More Up His Sleeve". Essence. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  18. ^ "Karamo Brown On 'Queer Eye' & 'Embracing Purpose'". NPR.org. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  19. ^ TaylorSwiftVEVO (June 17, 2019), Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down, retrieved June 17, 2019
  20. ^ Hanrahan, Laura (January 9, 2020). "ABC President Says She Stands By Controversial Decision to Cast Season Spicer In 'DWTS'". Woman's Day. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  21. ^ a b c McBee, Thomas Page (December 10, 2019). "Karamo From Queer Eye Was "Cancelled" After Calling Sean Spicer a Friend, But He Said He Had a Good Reason". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  22. ^ Mosbergen, Dominique (August 22, 2019). "'Queer Eye' Star Karamo Brown Offers Surprise Defense Of 'Sweet Guy' Sean Spicer". HuffPost. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  23. ^ Miller, Zoe Luderman (February 28, 2020). "Facing the deeper side of ourselves: Star of Queer Eye Karamo Brown speaks at UW". The Daily. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  24. ^ Tran, Amberly (January 26, 2020). "Karamo Brown returns to Tallahassee to celebrate MLK day". FSU News. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  25. ^ "Queer Eye's Karamo Brown Gives John Jay Students His Best Life Advice." John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 27 June 2019, www.jjay.cuny.edu/news/queer-eye's-karamo-brown-gives-john-jay-students-his-best-life-advice
  26. ^ 'We are all perfectly designed': Karamo Brown's advice for Duke students – The Chronicle
  27. ^ "Facing the deeper side of ourselves: Star of Queer Eye Karamo Brown speaks at UW". February 28, 2020.
  28. ^ Karamo Brown wows SU crowd with message of love, self-esteem The Northerner. October 10, 2018
  29. ^ "I Am Perfectly Designed: Book review". Publishers Weekly. August 15, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  30. ^ TheAdvocateMag. "Karamo Felt 'Betrayed' By His Son's Coming Out – And Then He Evolved." ADVOCATE, 24 Sept. 2019, www.advocate.com/exclusives/2019/9/24/karamo-felt-betrayed-his-sons-coming-out-and-then-he-evolved.
  31. ^ "Karamo Brown And Honest Company Alumni Launch MANTL, A Personal Care Brand For Bald Men." AP NEWS, Associated Press, 6 Feb. 2020, apnews.com/231607f7cc9fd29e26ff50d8e5d9e346.
  32. ^ #teamEBONY (February 26, 2020). "2020 EBONY POWER 100 LIST". EBONY. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  33. ^ Wignall, Elle (March 7, 2022). "Des Moines baker Andrew Fuller, of Sugar Freakshow, will star in a new Netflix show 'Is It Cake?'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  34. ^ Albiniak, Paige (March 14, 2022). "Syndication: Pieces Falling Into Place for 2022-23 TV Season". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  35. ^ Garvey, Marianne (September 19, 2022). "'Queer Eye' star Karamo Brown debuts new talk show". CNN. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  36. ^ Walden, Tiffany (September 14, 2016). "Positively Fearless: Fighting HIV stigma". The Miami Times. ProQuest 1825375380.
  37. ^ "Karamo Brown: Cover Story | A&U Magazine".
  38. ^ Karamo Brown – ICM Speakers
  39. ^ Adrienne Wichard-Edds (April 30, 2018). "Tim Daly, Richard Schiff Stump for Arts Funding on Capitol Hill". The Hollywood Reporter.
  40. ^ "I've gone without health care because I thought it was a privilege, not a right. Our kids deserve better". NBC News. November 3, 2018.
  41. ^ Karamo Brown On New Gig And Activism – Essence
  42. ^ "Human Rights Campaign to Honor Karamo Brown of Netflix's 'Queer Eye' at 21st Annual HRC Houston Gala"
  43. ^ "Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Competition Program – 2020". emmys.com. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  44. ^ Karamo on Fatherhood – YouTube
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