Nyle DiMarco Biography

Nyle DiMarco (born Nyle Thompson) is an American model, actor, and activist. In 2015, he won the 22nd season of America's Next Top Model and has so far been only one of two deaf contestants to ever compete on the show (see Marlie Matlin). He is currently a celebrity contestant on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016.

Background

DiMarco was born in Queens, New York to Neal Thompson, Sr and Donna DiMarco. He comes from a deaf family with his parents, both of his brothers, and his grandparents all born deaf. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother raised the children alone. He grew up in Frederick, Maryland, and graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in mathematics. DiMarco lives in New York City. American Sign Language (ASL) is his native language and he is also proficient in lip reading and nonverbal communication.

Career

In 2013, DiMarco had a leading role in the independent film In the Can, which was told in American Sign Language with English subtitles. In 2014 and 2015, he played the recurring role of Garrett Banducci in Switched at Birth on the Freeform network.

DiMarco was doing freelance modeling for about a year before he was contacted by America's Next Top Model producers in 2015. They scouted the 25-year-old via his Instagram account without realizing he was deaf. He was named the winner of the season after beating out Mam Adjei in the season finale. He is so far the only deaf contestant in the show's history, and the second male to ever win.

Shortly after winning the competition, DiMarco signed with Wilhelmina Models in New York City.

On March 8, 2016, DiMarco was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars. He is partnered with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd. DiMarco is the second deaf contestant to be on the show; Marlee Matlin was the first in season 6.

In 2016, DiMarco will appear in the Hulu comedy series Difficult People.

Dancing with the Stars performances

Dimarco is partnered with Peta Murgatroyd

Week #	Dance / Song	Judges' scores			Result
		Inaba	Goodman	Tonioli
1	Cha-Cha-Cha / "Cake by the Ocean"	8	7	8	No elimination
2	Rumba / "Stole the Show"	7	6	7	Safe
3	Tango / "Verge"	8	8	9	Safe
4	Samba / "Trashin' the Camp"	8	8/91	9	Safe
52	Viennese Waltz / "I Get to Love You"	9	10/93	9	No elimination
6	Quickstep / "Hey! Pachuco!"	8	8	9	Safe
7	Foxtrot / "Beautiful Day"	10	9	9	Safe
8	Paso Doble / "Victorious" Team-Up Dance (Argentine Tango) / "Habanera"	10 10	9 10	10 94	Safe
9 Semifinals	Trio Jive / "Hit the Road Jack" Argentine Tango / "Unsteady"	9 10	9 10	9 10	Safe

¹ Score by guest judge Zendaya.

² This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, DiMarco performed with Sharna Burgess instead of Murgatroyd. Murgatroyd performed with Doug Flutie.

³ Score by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

⁴ Due to Tonioli being the judge coaching DiMarco's team during the team-up dance, the viewers scored the dance in his place with the averaged score being counted alongside the remaining judges

Personal life

DiMarco said he has a fraternal twin brother, Nico, who has red hair and looks nothing like him. He also has an older brother, Neal. In October 2015, DiMarco said he was "fluid" when asked during an interview with Out magazine about his sexuality.

Activism

DiMarco does not consider himself to be disabled by deafness and sees his media profile as an opportunity to bring awareness to Deaf culture. He views deafness as an advantage in modeling because he is accustomed to conveying messages without speaking. He also holds the belief that deaf roles should be played by deaf actors.

DiMarco said he is a spokesperson for LEAD-K (Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids). He is a signer and creative collaborator on The ASL App, an app that teaches conversational ASL.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014-15	Switched At Birth	Garrett Banducci	Season 3, Ep 18 "It Isn't What you Think" Season 4, Ep 16 "Borrowing Your Enemy's Arrows" Season 4, Ep 18 "The Accommodations of Desire"
2015	America's Next Top Model	Himself	Cycle 22; Winner
2016	Difficult People	TBA
	Dancing with the Stars	Himself	Season 22