Who is Tristin Mays?
Tristin Mays is an actress who gained popularity starring as Riley Davis in the remake of the eponymous series “MacGyver”; she also had a recurring role in the popular supernatural drama series “Vampire Diaries”. Tristin was born under the Zodiac sign Gemini on 10 June 1990, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA a mix of Native American, African-American and Creole descent. As of early 2022, she’s 31 years old and holds American nationality.
Early Life and Family
Tristin was born to Viveca Mays, a former artist, and Michael Mays who worked in the military, so during her childhood, they moved a lot – she spent her childhood in New York, but the family later relocated to Moreno Valley, California, when Tristin was 13 years old. Her mother instilled a love for the arts in Tristin, and inspired her to be more creative and expressive.
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Tristin matriculated from Vista del Lago High School, but it remains unclear whether she pursued an academic path.
She has one sibling, an older brother Jeryn who is an actor, perhaps best known for his roles in the “Movie Surfers”, “Fail”, and “Boogie Down”.
Career
Tristin launched her career at the age of six, portraying Angel in the 1996 TV movie “Harambee!”. The following year, she was cast as the regular character, Shaina Alston in the children’s musical series “Gullah Gullah Island”, starring in the fourth season, and in her formative years continued appearing in various TV shows, such as “Alias”, “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide”, and “Everybody Hates Chris”.
In 2009 she landed the role as recurring character Taylor Bell in the web series “Private”, based on the novels of the same name by Kate Brian.
After her one-episode performance in “True Jackson VP”, she starred in three episodes of the sitcom “Zeke and Luther”, then in 2010, Tristin appeared in four episodes of the musical comedy series “Big Time Rush”, and performed in a skit on “Kelly Brook’s Cameltoe Shows.”
The following year, she had several roles in TV shows and short movies, including “Hot Dog Water”, “Victorious”, and “Kickin’ It”. In 2012 she made her movie debut portraying Isabelle in the sports family comedy “Thunderstruck”, sharing the screen with Kevin Durant, Taylor Gray and Jim Belushi; the movie was a box-office flop, grossing only $500,000 against a $7 million budget, in addition to negative reviews. On the other hand, Tristin gained some popularity and media exposure with her performance.
After her one-episode appearance in the political drama series “Newsroom”, Tristin portrayed Megan in the short movie “She Is Not My Sister”. In 2013 she played Autumn Rose in the direct-to-video comedy film “House Party: Tonight’s the Night”.
Two years later, she had a small part in the romantic comedy movie “The Wedding Ringer”, sharing the screen with Kevin Hart, Kaley Cuoco and Josh Gad, and in the same year, she landed the role of Sarah Nelson/Salvatore in the supernatural series “Vampire Diaries” – her character is introduced in the sixth season, and Tristin also guest-starred in the eighth season, appearing in seven episodes.
“MacGyver” and Other Roles
In 2016, she scooped a recurring role as Brie in the first season of the teen psychological web series “Tagged”.
Tristin also landed her most recognized role as Riley Davis, a tough-as-nails, sarcastic and rebellious hacker in the action-adventure series “MacGyver”, which premiered in September 2016.
In an interview, Tristin talked about her similarities with Riley, disclosing: ‘Playing Riles has been the easiest role I have ever done, because she’s me. I wear the same clothes, we’re the same person. It’s awesome because I get to be me. Riley is tough, edgy, she doesn’t care.’
The show follows an operative of a secret U.S organization, Angus MacGyver, who solves high-profile cases and saves lives with his competent team. Besides Tristin, it also stars Lucas Till, George Eads and Henry Ian Cusick, with the action-packed series running for five seasons until canceled in April 2021 for unknown reasons.
Even though it received mixed to average reviews, it was one of the most-watched shows on CBS, which only contributed to the confusion over the lack of explanation for the cancelation.
Additionally, there were some issues behind the scenes between the executive producer Peter Lenkov and the cast, reportedly fired in 2020 after the main actor, Lucas Till, revealed some disturbing information about his behavior.
Talking to Vanity Fair, Till disclosed: ‘I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable. I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel. But the way he’s treated the people around me — that’s just my breaking point.’
While filming “MacGyver”, Tristin appeared in several other series, such as “Switched at Birth” and “Impractical Jokers”. In 2020, she portrayed the main character named Nora in the TV comedy film “The Christmas Sitters”, alongside Nathan Owens, Justin Gaston and Melissa Ordway.
Personal Life
When it comes to her dating history, she was previously in a relationship with the professional soccer player DeAndre Yedlin, reportedly dating for a year then split for unknown reasons, while there were some rumors about distance being an issue. According to the latest reports, she’s dating the actor Jessie T. Usher, best recognized for his roles in “Survivors Remorse”, “Independence Day: Resurgence”, and “Dangerous Lies”. The two have made several public appearances together over the last couple of months.
Her Other Endeavors
In 2009, Tristin was a member of the R’ n ’B group “Jane 3”, alongside Jerika Scott and Earanequa Carter. According to reports, they collaborated with various popular performers and producers, including T-Pain, Rufus Blaq and Marques Houston. Their most popular song was “Screensaver”, however, the group disbanded for unknown reasons.
Additionally, she owns the retail company “Trizzie”, which sells jewelry, clothing and accessories.
In 2021, she launched the home décor Instagram page entitled “The Disco Room”, which follows her journey of redesigning her living space. The page’s description reads: ‘Join me as I turn my dream home into a reality on a budget! Here, we dance.’
Physical stats and Hobbies
Tristin is 5ft 4ins (164cm) tall, weighs around 128lbs (58kgs) with vital statistics of 35-24-35. Her hair is long and black, further adorned with brown eyes. She has a very fit and toned body, which she maintains through regular exercises and dancing. Tristan loves to dance, and has posted several videos of her dance routines on her Instagram.
Tristin is an avid dog-lover, and owns a Miniature Pincher named Roscoe, which can often be seen on her Instagram account.
In her free time she likes to travel, and she has already visited most of the US states and Europe, such as France, Switzerland and Germany.
Interestingly, she’s a fan of video games, and recently bought the “CyberPunk”, after several fans sent her a photo of THE character, “Panam”, who has an uncanny resemblance to Tristin.
Her favorite actors include Jim Carrey, the late Robin Williams, and Natalie Portman, while her favorite movies are “Bruce Almighty”, Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Leon: The Professional”. When it comes to her musical influences, she cites Michael Jackson, “NYC” and Freddie Mercury as her inspirations and favorite performers. Obviously, she’s a huge fan of ‘80s and 90’s music.
Would you like to know her net worth?
As of 2022, her estimated net worth is around $1 million, which she’s acquired through her career as an actress, and her other endeavors. It’s believed that she additionally earns through sponsored posts and modeling gigs.
Is she active on social media?
She is very active on her Instagram, which boasts nearly 500,000 followers, while her Twitter account has over 70,000 followers. She recently tweeted that she wanted to delete her Twitter, as she often forgot to post things and needed a reminder.
