User:Shawn l. king

In just a few short years Shawn King has managed to go

from unknown to rising star in the fashion

industry. Appearing in ads for companies such as Coca

Cola, Nike and Old Navy. He has shot with top

photographers as well as graced the pages of

Seventeen, GQ and Cosmopolitan.

It’s been a long road up to this point and the journey

continues…but Shawn has used self-confidence, charm

and a million dollar smile to propel him forward in

the competitive world of entertainment.

Born in south Philadelphia, to Clifton E. King a U.S. Marine and Bobbette King a

retail manager. Shawn is the second oldest of four

boys; Clifton Jr., Michael and Corey. Shawn along with

his brothers spent most of his youth moving around

attending a total of five elementary schools before

completing the sixth grade. He used sports as a way of

adjusting and making new friends with each move. With

his natural athleticism Shawn was able to excel in

everything, from baseball to soccer, but he would find

his greatest comfort in basketball.

After completeing Junior High in

Washington D.C., Shawn’s family would make the move to

Okinawa, Japan. That fall Shawn made the JV basketball

team and after three games he was asked to move up to

Varsity. This would be the first time a freshman would

have that honor. After the conclusion of a successful

basketball season, Shawn would be faced with a

challenge that would forever change his life. While

bike riding with friends, a short cut turned tragic leaving

Shawn with a broken neck. The lessons

learned from this accident would help to build

character and give him a renewed gratitude for life.

Shawn worked hard throughout the next three years of

high school, but the likelihood of being recruited

while in Okinawa was scarce to none. Wanting to

continue his basketball career he opted to play at

Hagerstown Junior College in Maryland. Within the

first year of playing for Hagerstown he was recruited

by Shippensburg University a division ll school for

basketball.

During his junior year of college Shawn suffered yet

another blow to the neck which would prevent him from

playing basketball competitively. Heart broken by the

prospects of no longer being able to play basketball,

he was forced to rethink what his career path would

be. Shawn has been quoted as saying “I would’ve

starved to death if I had to work a 9 to 5”.

After long consideration Shawn decided to give

modeling a try. Having done some modeling in High

School and with the encouragement of friends he took a

trip to New York to meet with agencies. He would soon

find that the modeling world was far more difficult to

get into then he had anticipated. After being rejected

by every major modeling agency in New York Shawn

decided to finish up College and prepare for a move

out west.

Upon graduating he moved back

home to save money for his trip to

California. Shawn spent the summer moving furniture and

by September all he had to show for his efforts was

$80.

Determined to go out west, Shawn stretched the truth,

telling his parents that he had some contacts set up

in LA.

On September 9, 2001 with $330 to his name (of which

$250 was given by his father) he set off to

California. He arrived in Los Angeles on September 11,

2001. Because of the 9/11 tragedy Shawn found it

difficult to find representation and would spend the

next six months working as an extra in T.V. and film.

After a year of hitting the pavement, Shawn would

finally get the break he was looking for when asked to

sign with a major modeling agency. Three days after

signing Shawn began his professional modeling career

when he was hired by Glamour magazine for a photo

shoot. Today Shawn is represented by the best in the

business throughout the U.S. and abroad in some of the

most competitive modeling markets. His face can be

seen in commercials, TV. and print campaigns around

the world.