Melyssa Ford seemed destined for a career in the public eye, going all the way back to her youth when she was chosen to be the star of her school's theatrical productions, including Beauty and the Beast. Music video director Little X discovered the stunning beauty when she was working the bar of a Toronto nightclub, and launched her video modeling career in the late '90s.

Her appearances in hot video clips like Mystikal's "Shake It Fast," Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'," Busta Rhymes' "Make It Clap," R. Kelly's "Happy People," and Usher's No. 1 hit "Yeah!" have made Melyssa a familiar item on both MTV and BET.

The video clip exposure paved the way for magazine features, including Black Men magazine's 2001 swimsuit issue. After appearing in an XXL spread, Harve Pierre, V.P. of Bad Boy Entertainment, brought Melyssa from her hometown of Toronto, Canada, to New York City. There, Melyssa began hosting an Internet program and turned up in bit parts on TV's Soul Food and on the big screen in Turn It Up.

One of her latest incarnations has been as a no-holds-barred columnist for Smooth magazine, where she doles out candid advice on relationships and sex -- with a heavy emphasis on the latter. Ford's recent calendar and accompanying DVD were dubbed one of the most anticipated urban product releases of 2004, and there's no doubt in our minds that it was.