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TRACI BINGHAM
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Traci Bingham (née Julie Anne Smith) was born January 13, 1971, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The youngest of 7 siblings, Traci has her diverse heritage of half Afro-American, part Cherokee and part Italian to thank for her exotic looks.

Her parents' strict upbringing that emphasized family values and education, which led Traci to attend Harvard after graduating from Cuyahoga Community College, and follow in the footsteps of her Ivy League older siblings. But although she attended Harvard, she was more interested in acting.

She got her feet wet by appearing in plays such as West Side Story, Guys and Dolls and Grease, but it all changed for her when director John Landis was in Boston, filming Celtic Pride. He noticed the gorgeous Harvard student, and gave her a bit part in the basketball film, enough to convince Traci that she wanted to be an actress.

Traci put her studies on hold and headed to Los Angeles, where it didn't take long for her to land roles. She appeared in sitcoms such as Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Married...With Children. But it was in 1996 that Traci hit the beaches of Baywatch, as lifeguard Jordan Tate. The first African American to don the staple red bathing suit, Traci fulfilled her lifeguard duties for two years.

Her Baywatch stint motivated her to get involved with Heal the Bay, as well as other environmental charities. Just when things were getting red hot for Traci with her 1998 spread for Playboy, she was taken out of the Baywatch script by the time her issue was released.

That didn't stop Traci from keeping busy though, as she added modeling to her resume and has appeared on a slew of magazine covers, and took on small television roles in Sin City Spectacular, The Jamie Foxx Show, Strip Mall, Malcolm & Eddie, The Parkers, as well as occupying a square on the game show, Hollywood Squares.

Traci has also appeared in the documentary in both parts of Exposed: TV's Lifeguard Babes, as well as the 1999 film, Foolish and 2000's The Private Public. In 1999, Traci landed the role of Victoria Carrera in the film and short-lived television series The Dream Team, along with fellow beauties, Angie Everhart and Caprice Bourret, as agents disguised as supermodels (quite a stretch).

last updated
9.2.05

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