MANILA, Philippines—America’s Next Top Model Cycle 11 is premiering pretty soon. For the past 10 seasons, the show has shared with the model-obsessed world a hodgepodge of weirdoes, wannabes and those with real fashion potential.
Forget about the negative stereotypes and the major bitches who give fashion a bad name, though. This iconic reality show has proven that models can be bearers of positivity. The following are just some of the models you can look up to—and it’s not just because of their towering height.
Yaya Da Costa
She ended up as the runner-up to Eva in Cycle 3, but that didn’t stop this beauty from making it big. After the show, she grabbed a lot of projects, even trying her hand at acting. She has appeared in the movie “Take the Lead” and the TV show “All My Children.” And remember how Yaya was criticized for her bad skin? She made sure she’d address her weaknesses. Now she’s become a model for Olay!
Naima Mora
Famous for her mohawk, this Cycle 4 winner proves you don’t need to step on other’s toes, lie, dramatize or be overly-aggressive just to win a competition. She has proven that talent and a good, positive attitude can still bring home the bacon.
Lisa D’Amato
If there is one thing to learn from this crazy chick of Cycle 5, it is that you shouldn’t be ashamed of your special-ness even if it means you can’t book the assignments that every other model out there wants. Lisa embraced her look and her craziness, and while she still does some modeling, she is also a rap artist now who has released a string of online hit songs and music videos—with her trademark craziness, of course.
Joanie Dodds
This Cycle 6 runner-up has learned that, especially in the modeling world, no gain equals no pain. One should welcome change no matter how painful. Joanie always had a huge, distracting tooth that prevented her from smiling and limited her poses. When the opportunity to remove this bad tooth came, she didn’t think twice about grabbing it. Letting go of the tooth, no matter how excruciating, eventually gave her something to smile about.
Natasha Galkina
This petite Russian is the queen of positivity—or maybe not. When the judges didn’t like her photos or her poses, and whenever she got criticized, she ended up thanking them and acting as if what they said was the biggest compliment ever. Now, whether she is the queen of positivity, the princess of duh or was just plain deluded, what she did worked for her. She’s not traditionally model-material and her walk isn’t the best, but she ended up second in the show’s Cycle 8.
Jaslene Gonzales
Persistence is what this fierce Latina is all about. She didn’t make it to the finals during Cycle 7; when it was time to say goodbye to Tyra, she gave the host a hug and told her that she’d be back. Lo and behold, she returned the season after that—and ended up as the ultimate winner! Now that is a perfect example of how one should carry on even after rejection.
Bianca Golden
This Brandy-lookalike braved a painful weave during the traditional makeover of the show, and then had to let go of that weave plus the rest of her hair when the look didn’t cut it for her. Lesson: accept what life (or Tyra, in this case) gives you and work it! It was going bald that gave her the edgy look. After the show, Bianca scored numerous assignments thanks to her no-hair ’do—including walking for Project Runway!
Whitney Thompson
Sure, she wasn’t entirely nice, but you’ve got to hand it to the bubbly gal who emerged as the winner of the show’s Cycle 10, the show’s first-ever plus-size winner. Whitney has not only proven that personality counts a lot in the industry, but that you didn’t need to be stick-thin to be part of the biz.
