Mikey Lorna Tyson Lives a Quiet Life as a Plus-Size Model - Mike Tyson Once Disowned His Daughter

Publish date: 2024-05-18

Mike Tyson | Mikey Lorna Tyson | Source: Getty Images | nstagram.com/_agirlnamedmichael/

Had she been born a boy, her name might have been stylized Michael Tyson II; as things stand, the girl named Michael goes by Mikey Lorna Tyson. She is the eldest child of boxing legend Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson missed the first few years of Mikey Lorna Tyson's life, first by denying paternity and then spending a few years incarcerated. Despite missing his eldest's early years, the father and daughter have a loving relationship.

The model is working on an autobiography in which she will detail what it was like growing up as the daughter of a heavyweight champ while struggling with obesity. She has drastically cut down on her social media over the years and mostly flies under the radar.

Retired boxing champion Mike Tyson (C) and family attend the 2016 US Open Opening Night held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2016, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Mikey Lorna Tyson's Dad Once Denied She's His Biological Child

Mikey sometimes styled "Miki," was born in Harlem, New York City, and raised by her mother between New York and Las Vegas. She attended a private school in Maine. In high school, she was bullied and did not get along with her stepfather.

Her mom, Kimberly Scarborough, is a former model who dated Mike Tyson after his divorce from his first wife, Robin Givens, in 1989. The boxer told her to get an abortion when she fell pregnant, but the model left the clinic without getting the procedure.

Scarborough sued the boxer for paternity when Mikey was eight months old. He had given her funds to buy baby essentials but later denied paternity until the suit confirmed her claim. Details of the settlement were not disclosed, but his child was "well provided for," per his lawyer.

Mike Tyson (C), daughters Mikey Tyson, Milan Tyson, wife Kiki Tyson and son Morocco Tyson arrive at the Los Angeles opening night of "Mike Tyson - Undisputed Truth" at the Pantages Theatre on March 8, 2013, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

Mikey Lorna Tyson Struggled with Her Weight Most of Her Life

At 15, the model shared that she struggles with obesity like most of the members on the paternal side of the family. Mike weighed in at 200 lbs. in his early teens, and his daughter reckoned that he would still have obesity issues if he were not so fitness obsessed.

When the boxer's sister Denise Anderson died at 24 in February 1990, she was believed to have weighed between 300 and 400 lbs. His mother also had weight problems.

In 2017, the model shared her fitness and weight-loss journey on a defunct blog, A Girl Named Michael. She calls cooking her therapy and shares photos of her healthy culinary creations on social media.

Mikey shared that while she was not a "scale-girl" and measured her size on the fit of her clothing, but said her highest recorded weight was 390 lbs. She said in a magazine profile that she had to work hard to get her weight down:

“I have been battling obesity my entire life, but this time around I lost the weight by incorporating a low calorie, low fat diet running and dancing… belly dancing specifically! I wanted to make this go at weight loss as fun as possible.”

As a child, she attended various weight-loss camps. She aims to start a non-profit organization, Tyson's Bow, to help combat obesity in inner-city children. The model hoped to give children information on healthier diet options and access to weight-loss camps.

Mike Tyson (R) and daughter Mikey Tyson arrive at the Los Angeles opening night of "Mike Tyson - Undisputed Truth" at the Pantages Theatre on March 8, 2013, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

Mikey Lorna Tyson Overcame Adversity & Is Now a Plus-Size Model

Growing up, Mikey was inspired by Crystal Renn and told herself that one day it would be her in the magazine advertisements that featured the early plus-size model.

The Harlem native did a cover shoot for Queen Size Magazine in November 2016. She looks glowing on the glossing front page in a sporty blue leotard with gold athletic lettering while flexing exercise equipment behind her neck.

In one of her earliest interviews as a teenager, she spoke about her dream of designing a plus-sized fashion line and briefly studied at Parsons School of Design.

Mikey draws her style inspiration from the different environments she has been exposed to, like being raised in Harlem and her Maine boarding school. She explains:

"Growing up as a child of the nineties, a mix of glamour and gaudiness was all the rage, and I just so happened to grow up with parents who were obsessed with great style. My mother kept me dressed in the latest trends."

She designed a line of shoes for sizes 11-15 made of high-end leather, which she described as elaborate, beautiful, and "practical wearable."

Mikey Lorna Tyson Now Shares a Close Relationship with Her Dad & Half-Siblings

Mike Tyson spent the first few years of his eldest child's life in prison on a sexual assault charge. "The Hangover" star has been open about his "neglect" of his children and told MTV in 2009 that he hopes to repair those relationships. He has seven children.

On her mother's side, Mikey has a half-sister.

Mikey shares small silvers into her relationship with her blended family, like a snap with her "mini-me" Milan Tyson on a boat during a family vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands. She has posted birthday tributes to her younger half-brothers, Morocco and Miguel Tyson.

Her mother told a newspaper that she and her ex, Mike, "shudder to think" that they almost gave up their daughter before she was born. Mikey said in an interview:

"My life has been extremely blessed because of my father, and I just want to acknowledge him as the great dad he has always been."

On her mother's side, Mikey has a half-sister, Christina Barbie, with whom she is close. Her youngest sister, Miguel Tyson's full sibling, Exodus, tragically passed away on May 25, 2009, in an accident.

The aspiring designer who once said that she would date someone "who couldn't hold his own" is not currently in a public relationship. Barbee Tyson is her black French bulldog who habitually rips up her beloved fashion magazines.