‘Top Model’ runway coach J. Alexander says stroke left him unable to walk
J. Alexander, a former runway coach on “America’s Next Top Model,” has revealed that he had a stroke that left him incapacitated for an extended period of time. He also shared that the show’s executive producer and star Tyra Banks never visited him during the dark period.
In “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” a new documentary series about the rise and fall of the wildly popular reality competition, the reality star best known as “Miss J.” — opens up about his debilitating health struggles.
“On December 27th of 2022, I had a stroke. I woke up. I didn’t know where I was other than in the hospital,” Alexander said in the series’ third episode. “I spent five weeks in a coma, and I couldn’t walk. And I couldn’t talk. And I thought to myself, what was I going to do?”
The 67-year-old fashion industry veteran added: “I’m not ashamed to say that I cried.”
From 2003 to 2012, Alexander — whose real name is Alexander Jenkins — served as a judge and the catwalk coach on “America’s Next Top Model,” which set out to be a launching pad for aspiring models.
“I miss being the queen of the runway. The catwalks, of course. I’m the person who taught models how to walk. I taught models how to walk,” he said in the Netflix documentary that dropped Monday.
During the recovery from his near-fatal medical event, close friends and fellow “ANTM” stars Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker visited him — but Alexander says Banks, the face of “America’s Next Top Model,” never did.
When asked in “Reality Check” if the “Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Issue” trailblazer had paid him a visit, Alexander says she hadn’t “yet” but added that she had texted him saying she wanted to.
The bombshell Netflix project, directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, was filmed last year.