Nigel Barker (born 27 April 1972) is an English reality TV show personality, noted fashion photographer, author, spokesperson, filmmaker, and former model. He is best known for his participation as a judge and photographer on the reality show America's Next Top Model, and was the host of reality show The Face. for the American series.
Barker was born in London. His father is of Irish and Portuguese descent; and his mother is of Sri Lankan ancestry. His mother, who was a former Miss Sri Lanka contestant, played a significant role in forming his respect for the modeling profession as he grew up. Barker grew up in a family with five siblings from a total of three marriages, and lived there until he was 18. He attended Bryanston School, a boarding school, where he took his A-levels in biology, chemistry, and physics.
Barker planned to continue his studies in medicine, but his mother entered him into a televised model search on The Clothes Show. He was a finalist on the show, which started his modeling career. He modeled for around 10 years in London, Milan, Paris and New York City. As a young model, he observed that the fashion industry was changing—that "models were shrinking and a 6’4" well-built male model was not selling". In 1996, he transitioned himself from model to fashion photographer.