Karamo Brown

Karamo Karega Brown is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist. Born on November 2, 1980, he is widely recognized for his role as the culture expert on the Netflix reality series Queer Eye, which premiered in February 2018, and as the host of his eponymous talk show Karamo for NBCUniversal.

Brown was born in Houston, Texas, to parents from Jamaica and raised alongside three older sisters. He came out as gay at age 14. He grew up in Coral Springs, Florida, and graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 1999. He later graduated from Florida A&M University, a historically black university, and worked in social services. In 2007, Brown was notified that he was the father of a ten-year-old boy, Jason, and received custody of him that year. He went on to adopt his son's half-brother in 2010.

Brown made his television debut in 2004 on the MTV reality show The Real World: Philadelphia, and later competed on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II. In 2014, he became a host and segment producer for the Own Show, and subsequently worked as a host and producer for HuffPost Live, host of MTV's Are You the One? Second Chances, a contributing host on Dr. Drew On Call and The Young Turks, and a recurring guest host on Access Hollywood Live. In 2016, he appeared on TV One's reality series The Next 15.

In 2019, Brown competed on the 28th season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Jenna Johnson, becoming the fourth couple eliminated. During the season, he publicly addressed his interactions with fellow contestant Sean Spicer to discuss how policies against LGBTQ rights impact marginalized people. That same year, Brown made a cameo appearance in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video. He later judged an episode of Netflix's Is It Cake? in 2022.

After guest-hosting several episodes of Maury during the 2021–22 season, Brown was chosen as host Maury Povich's successor. He began hosting his daily talk show Karamo for NBCUniversal in September 2022. In March 2026, NBCUniversal announced the cancellation of Karamo due to local station programming preferences. Outside television, Brown teamed up with Honest Company alumni in 2020 to create MANTL, a personal care brand for bald and balding men.

Brown published his memoir, Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope, in March 2019, followed by the children's book I Am Perfectly Designed in November 2019, co-written with his son Jason. As an activist, Brown co-founded 6in10.org in 2015 to combat HIV stigma and provide mental health support to the Black LGBT community. He has partnered with the CDC, the National Black Justice Coalition, and Janssen's Positively Fearless campaign, worked with the Obama Administration on LGBTQ youth initiatives, and served as a national co-chair for Health Care Voter. In 2020, Brown was named to the Ebony Power 100 List.