Born in Texas and raised in Saudi Arabia, DeRon Horton attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, emphasizing the performing arts. He appeared in a number of short films and made his professional debut in an unnamed guest role in a 2012 episode of the series "Haven" (SyFy, 2010-2015). His feature debut was for a similarly unnamed role in the Robert De Niro and Zack Efron vehicle "Dirty Grandpa" (2016). Horton's break out year appeared to be 2017, when he played a starring role in the splashy Sundance hit "Burning Sands" (2017). The film examines fraternity hazing during hell week at a fictional traditionally black university. He was also set to play a series regular role in "Dear White People" (Netflix, 2017-), an adaptation of the film of the same name, following a group of minorities at an Ivy League university.