The search for an ESSENCE cover model--one who might even become the next Naomi, Alek or Kiara--was a fierce one, but we accomplished the mission.
Last September ESSENCE and Wilhelmina (the agency that launched the careers of Beverly Johnson, Cynthia Bailey and Tracy Ross) joined forces to discover a fresh face with model potential. What followed: mail-ins, regional model calls and a five-city mall tour. More than 7,000 hopeful sisters entered the contest.
With masterful makeup artist Sam Fine and photographer Matthew Jordan Smith included among the regional judges, Wilhelmina and ESSENCE staffers selected the ten finalists, who competed in New York in April.
Duane Gazi, director of new model development at Wilhelmina, says youth, versatility, height and beauty will get models in the door, but they need an extra something to break out into the big time. Enter 18-year-old Aladrian Crowder, the $50,000 Grand Prize Winner. "Aladrian looks as if she could be from a number of places--Africa, the Caribbean, the UK," says Gazi. Aladrian is, in fact, from Owings Mills, Maryland. "I didn't expect any of this," says the young student, who plans to major in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware in the fall.
Twenty-six-year-old Pamela Reed, second runner-up and longtime ESSENCE subscriber, landed a $30,000 contract. She entered the competition because she trusted the magazine. "I knew it wasn't a gimmick," says the Birmingham, Alabama, native. The judges loved her confidence and genuine bright smile.
Our third finalist, 24-year-old Canadian Melissa Hunte, received a $20,000 contract. "I wasn't sure my look would be what they were looking for; but I thought I had a chance," she says. Her agent, Judy Linton, says, "What I like about Melissa is her overall expression--the dimples, the smile. Her charisma really shows. I also love the fact that she doesn't live to be a model." A graduate of the University of Windsor, she received an honors degree in criminology this past spring.