Tatiana Thumbtzen (born April 22, 1960) is an American actress, model and dancer. She is mostly well known for her role in portraying the love interest of pop star Michael Jackson in the `The Way You Make Me Feel` music video off his 9th recorded album, Bad. Born Stephiane Yvonne Thumbtzen in Clearwater, Florida, USA, she is a classically trained dancer. Thumbtzen began to train in ballet dance at age 8, and moved to New York in her early teens on a ballet scholarship, where she studied at Juilliard with the school of American Ballet, a training camp for choreographer George Balanchine of the New York City Ballet Company. She states in an interview that through dance, she acquired a contract for modeling, and by age 19, she had gone to Japan to start her career as a model. Once returning to New York, Thumbtzen began work on a Harry Belafonte Production film, Beat Street, before moving to Los Angeles near the end of 1986 to begin work on commercials and printwork. She claims that one of her first print work jobs was a campaign for Billy Dean Williams for LA Eyewear. Thumbtzen, occupied with few other jobs, landed the job of acting in Michael Jackson`s `The Way You Make Me Feel` music video after being picked by him in the audition. Filming began around the end of 1987 to the start of 1988, which was said to be the pinnacle of Thumbtzen`s career. Rumours of Thumbzten and Jackson dating began to surface, whilst, during a performance of The Way You Make Me Feel, Thumbzten kissed Jackson onstage. She was fired soon after, and a replacement model was allocated. Throughout her career in show business, she has featured on shows such as Beverly Hills 90210, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and A Different World.

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