Nyle DiMarco

Nyle DiMarco (born May 8, 1989) is an American model, actor, and Deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the winner of The CW's reality television series America's Next Top Model in season 22, becoming the second male winner and the first Deaf winner. In the following year, he and professional dance partner Peta Murgatroyd were the winners of the ABC televised dance competition Dancing with the Stars in season 22. Early life DiMarco was born in Queens, New York as Nyle Thompson, explaining in his book that along with his brothers, he changed his last name from Thompson to DiMarco, his mother's maiden name, while at university. He is of English, Scottish, Italian and German descent. DiMarco grew up in Frederick, Maryland, where he attended the Maryland School for the Deaf, and went on to graduate from Gallaudet University in 2013, with a degree in mathematics. American Sign Language (ASL) is his native language but he uses English fluently in writing. Nyle also gets by with lip reading and nonverbal communication. He has a fraternal twin brother, Nico, and an older brother, Neal. Career In 2013, DiMarco had a leading role in the independent film In the Can, an American Sign Language Films production. In 2014 and 2015, he played the recurring role of Garrett Banducci in Switched at Birth on the Freeform network.