With thirteen seasons of the hit reality-TV series "America's Next Top Model" aired, there is no escaping of the cat-fighting drama around the catwalk for the legions of aspiring contestants we have grown to love since 2003. After its first-run airing on the CW network, the Tyra Banks-helmed show has re-runs on cable networks Oxygen, Lfietime, VH-1 and MTV.
So what have our favorite runway divas been up to? Check out these contestants' updates.
Jade Cole, Season 6: Remembered as one the uh, abrasive personalities on "ANTM," Jade Cole has since gone the way of the video vixen, appearing in segments for Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo and, aptly, in Jay-Z's "Change Clothes." When the biracial beauty isn't busy working the runway in Hong Kong or South Africa, she's scribbling her autobiography and going on film auditions. As for "Top Model," Cole has said, "I feel like they only focused on my negative attributes." Uh huh.
Fo Porter, Season 12: One of the more memorable faces of that season, freckled Fo Porter made it a priority to get her GED after getting dismissed from the show last April. In six short months, she's scored gigs for Target, Nike and for Abercrombie & Fitch, shooting with Bruce Weber.
Fatima Siad, Season 10: Somalian and Ethopian stunner Fatima Siad, who found herself as the face of genital mutilation causes on season 10, may not have taken the title, but she definitely won big. Since wrapping "Top Model," the NYU-grad has posed pretty for Elle, Ebony, WWD, and walked the runway forBetsey Johnson and Louis Vuitton, amongst others. Still, Siad called her season of "Top Model" a joke, noting that the fact that a reportedly plus-sized model -- whose biggest gig since has been JCPenneycatalog work -- won "might be about politics."
Toccara Jones, Season 3: She came in seventh on the third season of "ANTM," but that didn't stop Toccara Jones from making a name for herself. Signing as a plus-sized model with Wilhelmina Models, Jones has worked for Ashley Stewart, Avon, Torrid, Rocawear, New York & Co. and other major brands. Most recently, she scored a major coup with a 14-page spread, shot by Steven Meisel, for the all-black issue of Italian Vogue. Still, the sometime BET-host's stellar portfolio is marred by a 2008stint on the VH-1 reality hit "Celebrity Fit Club," where the proud Jones dropped some 32 pounds.
Whitney Cunningham, Season 8: This plus-sized smarty -- she graduated from Dartmouth in 2007 -- has been outspoken about body image since her stint on the show's eighth season. "I don't think people understand that I am a regular woman," said Cunningham, who's since landed gigs with Ashley Stewart. "I wear a [size] ten for God's sake. It's so funny because people come up to me and they say, 'Wow, you're not fat at all? You must have lost a lot of weight.' But that was my aim in going on the show, that a normal woman can actually have a place in the industry. She doesn't have to be a size 2 -- nor does she have to be a size 18."
Jaslene Gonzalez, Season 8: After being dismissed early in the game on Season 7, Gonzalez made a triumphant comeback on season eight, taking the title. The Puerto Rican poser, who grew up in Chicago, has since worked steadily for clients like Garnier Nutrisse, Lot29 and Cover Girl, plus four billboards (and counting!) in Times Square. She's also an outspoken activist, teaming up with Liz Claiborne for "Love is Not Abuse," a campaign against teen violence.
Eva Pigford, Season 3: Bitchy and ballsy, Season 3 winner Eva "The Diva" Marcille, (nee Pigford) parlayed her "Top Model" status -- she won covers including Women's Health & Fitness, King and Essence -- into a run through Hollywood. Starting with a recurring gig as Taye Digg's girlfriend on the short-lived "Kevin Hill," she also scored film work with the little-seen Crossover and Premium, as well as host gigs on BET. Since then, she's appeared on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and the N's "The Assistants." Ironically, her most significant role to date has been as a character named Tyra on "The Young and the Restless."
Elyse Sewell, Season 1: Now based in Hong Kong, Season 1 contestant Elyse Sewell -- who lost out to now-reality star Adrianne Curry -- is what all "Top Model" wannabes aspire to. With a coveted portfolio, Sewell has been the "ANTM" alum with the most steady workload, having walked runways in Milan, New York and especially Asia, scoring gigs with fashion magazines like Harper's Bazaar and designers including Chanel. In 2006, Sewell published her first book, based on her musings on a long-running Live Journal blog.
Kim Stolz, Season 5: Baby-faced and openly gay, New York native Kim Stolz caused a stir on Cycle 5 by nearly seducing one of the "straight" contestants. Post-"Top Model," the wannabe lawyer parlayed her passion for punk and activism into a gig hosting for mtvU and MTV News, for whom she covered the election last fall. Her take on reality stardom? "Very sociologically interesting while you're there, embarrassing when you're watching it later, and completely life-changing afterwards."
Isis King, Season 10: After catching Tyra's eye when posing as a background extra for a "Top Model" shoot with homeless people, Isis King was featured as one of the show's more controversial contestants -- because she is transgendered. In February, Banks herself paid for King's gender re-assignment surgery. "It's almost like I was supposed to have it," King said during a March 2009 appearance on "The Tyra Show." "Although it was swelling and bruising and everything, automatically I felt more comfortable. I was ready to walk around the house in my little shorts. I just felt more confident." And Tyra wasn't done playing fairy godmother. King's longtime boyfriend, Desmond, also proposed to her while on the show. The pair are said to be set to wed this summer.
Naima Mora, Season 4: When she's not busy fronting her prog-rock band Chewing Pics, the Detroit-born former ballet dancer Mora, who took the 2005 "Top Model" title, is busy posing for Elle, Uzuri and other magazines, as well as walking the carpet during fashion week in New York. She's also hit the catwalk for "Project Runway," and spends her downtime behind the counter at Cocoa Bar in Brooklyn.
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