Malaika Jackson

Ever since she could remember, Malaika Jackson (pronounced Ma-LIKE-ah) has always felt like entertaining was her calling. When she was a little girl, her older sister would dress her up in costumes to do instrumental music performances, dance routines and acting scenes to entertain her sister's group of friends. She learned at a very young age that she had a knack for entertaining, an instinct for performing and a natural gift to make people laugh. At 16, Jackson the Toronto native, tried her hand at modeling and a few commercials. However, an opportunity of a lifetime happened when she was 17 and was scouted by a pageant coordinator at a local Mc.Donalds. The coordinator pulled Jackson out of the line up and asked her if she would participate as a contestant in an upcoming beauty pageant. Being that Jackson was a tom-boy, and engaged very seriously in competitive martial arts and tough sports, she politely declined and thought the opportunity was not for her. However, upon returning home, and telling her mother about the chance encounter, Jackson's mother convinced her to join the pageant and compete. Ultimately, she won the pageant and was crowned Miss. Caribbean Canada. A few years later, fate would have it that another chance encounter would happen to Jackson again. While on a two week vacation to Vancouver B.C to visit her sister, she was randomly invited to join the live studio audience of a show called "969" on MTV Canada. As she was leaving the show a group of producers convinced her to submit a demo tape for a host position, which led to a spontaneous audition for the show the very next week. She auditioned for the show and got the job on the spot. The very next week she filmed her first episode and became a television host on MTV Canada. Originally on route to becoming a lawyer, Jackson found herself now pursuing a career in media. She later went on to receive a General Arts & Science Diploma, Journalism-Broadcast Diploma and Honours Degree in Communications. While living in Vancouver Jackson also caught wind of a prominent top agent in Vancouver who convinced her to give acting a serious shot. She started doing commercials, and after a short amount of time, starred in over 50 commercials. Simply put, Jackson's natural ability, sharp instinct, and impressive acting chops are the reasons she is a very sought-after actor. She currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia where she is flourishing in a full-time Film/TV career and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon!