Bria Murphy: Eddie's little girl a model chick

When your father is the biggest comedian of the past quarter century, and her uncle is "Chollie" Murphy, it probably would have been kind of hard to keep a straight face growing up.
But Bria Murphy, the 19-year-old first born of Eddie and Nicole Murphy, has mastered a straight face and level head.
Bria is starting to catch the eye of the entertainment business elite as she's appeared on "America's Next Top Model" and appeared in a few videos, including Gucci Mane's "Spotlight" video. She's also been linked to R&B singer Pleasure P. But who is Bria Murphy?

Murphy grew up in Long Island, along with other siblings and mother Nicole. In 2006, Nicole and Eddie's divorce was finalized. Eddie subsequently began dating former Spice Girl Mel B (with which he had a child) while Nicole began seeing former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.
Bria, meanwhile, has taken all this in and decided to forge a path for herself in Hollywood, where her father has a residence.
While there is no word on future projects Bria has on tap, there's no doubt we'll be seeing quite a bit of her in the near future.

Hey Tyra, Meat us Half-Way

In the wake of a nmodel's Photoshop disaster from clothier Ralph Laure last month, there's only one way to stop young girls who aspire to be models from trying to look anorexic: Tyra Banks must gorge herself on a whole rump roast on her show.
Banks, who's known to stand her ground when it comes to the hefty-weight issue, should allow herself to be chained to a dinner table, handcuffed to a chair and some choice, black angus should be placed before her.
At the beginning of the show, they should weigh her; at the end of the show they should her.
Girls will then be able to see a "model chick" eating and enjoying a meal without them feeling there's something wrong with it.
Who's with me?

TV's top prime female: Tyra is No. 1

First of all, we can't count Oprah Winfrey, because her show is not considered "primetime." If it did, then this wouldn't even be close.
But Tyra Banks is the No. 1 earner among women on primetime TV, according to Forbes.
While there are other aspiring media moguls out there, none of them have pulled it together across such a broad spectrum as T. Banks.
Tyra, who has become a poster child for fake hair and real shapes among women, pulls in $30 million for her talk show, endorsements, and of course ANTM. She was followed by Katherine Heigl, who pulled in $18 million. Check out the top woman earners list and see if you're on there (wink).

Did Toccara sell out?

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BlackBlasian and Proud

First of all, there could be a million different ethnicities and sub-nithicies (okay, it's a made-up word) of people these days, but one of the more prominent is the Blasian (or Afro-Asian).
The Blasian - Black + Asian - has been around since, well, centuries, quite naturally. But here in America, the term usually refers to a mix between African-Americans and someone from one of the Pacific nations (such as Philippines, Japan, China etc.).
Some Blasians have been making some serious headlines lately (That guy who smiles all the time after putting for birdie? You know, the one that's usually wearing a red shirt and visor and is usually smiling when they hand him the three-foot-long trophy? Yeah, Blasian.)
Some say the most popular "black" male model of our times is, well, Blasian.
Now, we all know race is a touchy subject, but ethnicity is not as divisive (right?): Anybody and everybody can claim a mixture: The whitest person in the world can claim, with some validity, an African ancestor. What we see now though is a pride associated with it that hasn't manifested itself before.
Some people feel though that one shouldn't emphasize the mixture, just the dominant traits i.e. if you have one drop of blackness in your blood (especially if its clearly seen in your complexion) then you're black.
I don't know; Is Kimora Lee Simmons Black, Blasian or what? She's whatever she wants to be.
I guess we all are.

Is 'Supermodel' Just a Word Now?

Tell me if you recognize the name: Daiane Conterato. Isabeli Fontana. Okay, Liya Kebede. Or Anna Gushina. How about Bette Franken? Behati Prinsloo?
I know, I know, one name -- at best -- sounded familiar to you, right? That's because the women gracing the catalogue covers and actually doing the catwalking or basically no-names these days.
Gone are the days when you actually knew the top model in the world.
The Internet has changed things: Now models are born every second. For every 19-year-old discovered walking the streets in Iceland, there's some big-boned chick from Sweetwater, Mississippi posting pics online proclaiming herself a "model".
So, what's that mean? It means, among other things, that the dream that Tyra Banks is selling ("You can become America's Next Top Model") is pretty much a facade.
Nowadays you're just as likely to see a Flavor of Love girl on the cover of a magazine than you are one of those pencil-thin girls from any ANTM season.
Are there any true 'Supermodels' left?

Before Tyra, There Was Veronica

After Oprah, but before Tyra, there was the Webb.
Veronica Webb.
The supermodel, journalist, author and TV personality seemingly had it all going for her and was the "it" girl in the late 1990s. The World Wide Web was just getting its legs back then, the air was pregnant with possibilities and the tall, slender Webb was connected with both New York's and Hollywood's elite. At her height she had a segment on "Good Morning America," was a contributing writer to the New York Times magazine and discarded photographers that sought photoshoots of her in lingerie.
Then she was discarded.
Webb, the first African-American to have a major cosmetics contract (with Revlon, preceeding Halle Berry and Beyonce), saw her opportunities as a writer and journalist much more than as a TV host or spokeswoman. She gravitated to the small boutiques and independent scene. It took her away from the huge budgets of Hollywood but put her in alliance with the smaller more grass-roots movements of the day.

Today, except for a brief turn as co-host of "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" on Bravo (where she was unceremoniously let go), Webb is content doing smallish events to turn people's attention away from the bubble-gum-wars of pop culture. Things like
Lingerie Miami.
Hey, brains and beauty last forever. Can't knock the hustle, till you know the hustle.