< America's Next Top Model < Characters

America's Next Top Model/Characters/Cycle Five


Nicole Linkletter

Born in North Dakota, Nicole attended Red River High School and went on to study at the University of North Dakota and at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where she majored in marketing. She is currently attending California State University, Northridge. Prior to her appearance on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, she was working at both Victoria’s Secret and Target.

When Nicole was a finalist on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, her beauty and talent didn’t exactly propel her to the top of the group. In fact, she had fallen to the bottom two twice, once after a photo shoot with the Wild Boyz from MTV and another time after the CoverGirl shoot. However, the judges saw immense potential in Nicole, and even renowned photographer Nigel Barker remarked that even though she wasn’t giving her 100%, she still was able to produce very good pictures. Nicole had gotten into a fight with fellow Top Model Finalist, Bre Scullark, when the former poured her energy drink down the sink and then proceeded to lie about it. Nicole was also quite insecure about her pale complexion, which greatly contrasted with her bright brown hair. Nevertheless, she made it to the Top 2 with Nik Pace, and her performance during the final runway challenge earned her all of the judges’ votes, consequently making her the fifth winner of America’s Next Top Model.

Nik Pace

Nik Pace was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was a student at Bradley Tech High School, but moved to Atlanta, Georgia when she was in her third year. Prior to her participation on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, Nik was working as an office coordinator and was under the care of Elite Model Management. She is Italian and African-American.

Although Nik was often criticized for not showing enough of her beautiful face in her photographs, the judges brought her all the way to the Top 2, along with other Top Model Finalist Nicole Linkletter. During the shoot for Secret Platinum Deodorant, Nik got into a fight with fellow Top Model finalist, Jayla Rubinelli. Nik felt that Jayla stole her secret, which was her fear of the dark. Because of this, Nik gave Jayla the silent treatment after the photo shoot. Nik and Jayla resolved their issues when they, along with the other Top 6 finalists, were flown to London. Nik did extremely well during the “Bollywood-themed” and CoverGirl shoots, but when it came down to the final runway challenge, the judges favored Nicole, consequently making Nik the runner-up.

Bre Scullark

Probably best known for her raspy, sultry voice and spunky personality, Bre won over two challenges, was voted Covergirl of the Week twice and received one first call-out during her stint on ANTM. Bre was involved in a memorable argument with fellow contestant Nicole Linkletter when she accused Nicole of stealing her granola bar, and retaliated by disposing of all of Nicole’s energy drinks. The girls refused to talk civilly until they reconciled during a day out in London when they were paired together, originally to their dismay. The identity of who stole the granola bar remains unknown. She placed 3rd, despite her strong improvement, she was seen weaker than her two competitors Nik Pace and Nicole Linkletter. During her time on ANTM, Bre was also criticized for her height.

Bre appeared in an episode of Cycle 7 to critique the models on their walks and appeared in a Cycle 8 episode posing in a photograph with eventual winner Jaslene Gonzalez.

Jayla Rubinelli

The then 20-year-old model from Tuscon, Arizona appeared to be one of the strongest contestants in the show. In the first few weeks, renowned photographer Nigel Barker often complimented Jayla during evaluation.

Jayla became close friends with fellow Top Model finalist and winner Nicole Linkletter, but had a major conflict with another Top Model finalist, Nik Pace. During the shoot for Secret Platinum, the girls were each asked to reveal one secret about themselves in the video. Nik accused Jayla of stealing her secret. When Jayla felt she was being ostracized by Nik and talked about by the other girls, she went on a verbal tirade against Nik in the confession room.

Jayla was able to make it to the Top 6 after a surprise non-elimination round. The 6 finalists were flown to London, where Jayla and Nik patched up their differences and became good friends. Unfortunately for Jayla, she was eliminated after two weeks when she failed to stand out in her “Bollywood-themed” photographs.

Kim Stolz

Kim grew up in New York City and attended The Brearley School in Manhattan. In 2005, she earned a bachelor’s degree in government and international politics from Wesleyan University; she wrote her undergraduate thesis about U.S. foreign policy. After graduating from Wesleyan, Kim briefly worked in a law firm.

In fall 2005, Kim was a contestant on Cycle 5 of America’s Next Top Model. Kim, who was open about her sexuality on ANTM, was routinely criticized by some of the show’s judges for having a “masculine” appearance.

Kim is most memorable for kissing fellow contestant Sarah Rhoades in the limo. She also “made out” with Sarah while the two were in bed together while living in the Top Model house. In an interview with the website AfterEllen, Kim stated: “I think that a lot of people were very quick to merge my sexuality and gender, and that made them scrutinize my masculinity a whole lot more than they would otherwise.” Kim was eventually the ninth contestant eliminated, making it to the final five.

Lisa D'Amato

The then 23-year-old Los Angeles native claims to have been dared to send in an audition tape to America’s Next Top Model because her friends were obsessed with the show. After a year of persuasion, she decided to participate in the program realizing she had nothing to lose.

On the show, Lisa was the front runner of her season. She was portrayed as the girl with the most outrageous personality and the best model when it came to the photoshoots. She soon became known as the “most notorious” of the models, not scared to speak her mind to the other contestants. She would run around the contestants’ house with wigs, masks and weird outfits, and one time after getting drunk, she had a long conversation with a Pampas Grass bush she named “Cousin It”.

The judges eliminated Lisa eighth, as they perceived her confidence as arrogance, although her pictures and personality had been considered some of the strongest of the contestants.

Lisa has shown discontent with her elimination and the show in general by writing about it in her blog. She stated that she thought the show to be very manipulative in their ways and not very helpful in terms of learning new things about modeling. She believes that her modeling career would have been better off without the show since she was already booking jobs prior to being a contestant. She has stated: “If you really want to model your better off just walking into an agency rather than audition for America’s Next Top Model. The show is a joke and is really only about drama. ‘Shocker!’.”

Nik: "It was a surprising and shocking elimination."
Kim: "Throughout the competition, Lisa is the girl who I thought will be on the top 3."
Bre: "After they called Jayla's name, my jaws drop and I was like... what?."

Kyle Kavanagh

The Dexter, Michigan native was an aspiring model at the time of her appearance on the show. As a finalist, Kyle quickly became one of the favorites because of her warm personality and obvious beauty. Kyle and openly gay Top Model finalist Kim Stolz became good friends during the show, and it was no secret that Kim found Kyle to be the prettiest among the bunch.

Kyle delivered very good photographs each week, but after the photo shoot for Ford Fusion, the judges felt that she was still not expressive enough. Kyle was the sixth contestant to be eliminated from the show.

Coryn Woitel

She is an aspiring model from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to her appearance on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, Coryn was working as a retail clerk in Minneapolis.

What were most noticeable about Coryn when she was a finalist on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5 were her athletic build, strong features and thick eyebrows. After the girls were given makeovers, Coryn’s features were toned down and her thick eyebrows were shaped more nicely. The judges didn’t have too much of a problem with her build, but they did tell her that she would have to compensate for it. Coryn’s fellow Top Model Finalist Lisa D’Amato was more open with her opinion about Coryn’s body, and at one point, told Coryn that she should stop “working out.” The remark irked Coryn, and she exchanged angry words with Lisa. The confrontation jarred Coryn, and when her photograph for a Secret Platinum deodorant print ad was reviewed, the judges couldn’t get over the sadness that her eyes conveyed. Consequently, Coryn became the fifth finalist to be eliminated from the show.

Coryn: "And what were you doing, alcoholic bitch!?"

Diane Hernandez

Before she joined the popular reality series, Diane, a plus-sized model, was working for Public Defender Bob Wesley in Orlando, Florida.

As a finalist, Diane was able to impress the judges with her great personality and beauty. Tyra Banks was happy to have a plus-sized model in the show again because Diane would be able to influence and encourage other plus-sized women to step out of their shells and go for their dreams.

Although Diane had much to learn about modeling, she was able to produce satisfactory photographs. However, as the weeks rolled by, and as the challenges and photo shoots became more difficult, Diane became more concerned with her body and image.

On the fourth week, the judges placed Diane and other Top Model finalist, Bre Scullark, on the bottom two. Unfortunately, Diane was the one sent home that week, as Tyra felt that her lack of self-confidence not only lessened her chances of winning, but was also sending the wrong message about beauty and weight.

Sarah Rhoades

As a finalist on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, Sarah is most popular for her full lips and her special bond with openly gay Top Model finalist Kim Stolz. Her relationship with Kim reached a more intimate level when they shared a kiss, even though both of them were apparently involved with someone else back home. Before the kiss, Sarah was very clear about her heterosexuality.

Sarah’s weakest point as a model was her inability to maintain her balance on the runway. She tripped several times during a fashion show challenge and the photograph she produced on the same day was not at par with the other finalists’. Consequently, she was sent home after spending only three weeks in the competition.

After she was eliminated, Sarah was probed about her experience on the show, but the questions usually revolved around her sexuality rather than her modeling. On an AfterEllen.com interview, Sarah cleared things up by saying she and Kim are just friends, and that when she kissed Kim, she was not involved with another person.

Cassandra Whitehead

Cassandra is an American actress, model, and beauty pageant queen from Houston, Texas. Cassandra attended Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where she was a member of the Gamma Phi chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

She competed in the Miss Texas Teen USA pageant from 2002 to 2004. She was a semi-finalist in both 2003 and 2004, and held the local title Miss Houston Teen USA in 2003. In these pageants, she competed alongside future Miss Texas USA Lauren Lanning (2006) and Magen Ellis (2007). In 2005, Jean (as Cassandra Whitehead) won the Miss Corpus Christi crown (a title held by Eva Longoria in 1998) and making the top 10 at Miss Texas USA 2005 (a title held by Eva Longoria in 1998) and made the top 10 at Miss Texas USA 2005. Jean competed in the Miss California USA 2008 pageant but was disqualified due to her appearance on America’s Next Top Model. The following year she was a judge for the Miss Newport Beach pageant.

Cassandra was chosen to compete on the UPN reality television show America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5 but quit the competition during the fourth episode. She became emotional during the makeover episode, wherein her long, dark brown hair was cut extremely short and dyed blond. During the next judging round, host Tyra Banks was still not pleased with Whitehead’s haircut, wanting to make it even shorter but Cassandra refused. Claiming that the producers gave her one night to consider her options, she walked out the following morning. She was recently voted one of the most memorable contestants by AOL entertainment. Cassandra made an appearance in The Cycle 5 Reunion, America’s Next Top Model: Where the Girls Are, and America’s Next top Model: Exposed.

Ebony Taylor

Born Sylmar, California, Ebony Taylor was a student at Cleveland Humanities Magnet High School in Reseda, where her senior class voted her “Most Likely to be Seen on the Red Carpet.”

When Ebony made it to the finals of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 5, Ebony immediately became popular for her catch phrase, “Don’t Get It Twisted.” She was the youngest contestant in Cycle 5, and during makeover week, received hair extensions and braids from Tyra Banks. However, her new look didn’t result in great pictures, and for this, Ebony was the second to be eliminated from the show.

When she appeared on an episode of The Tyra Banks Show, she told the supermodel that she was sexually abused as a child, and that before her family (which consisted of Ebony, her mother and her four sisters) moved to Sylmar, they were living inside their car. She, at one time, worked as a spokesmodel for Italian and French clothing brands.

Ashley Black

The then 22-year-old aspiring model from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was a successful boutique buyer in her hometown before her stint on America’s Next Top Model.

As a finalist on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5, Ashley became known for her confidence and strong belief that she had what it took to become the next winner of the competition. When she auditioned for the show, she remarked that being “pretty” ran in her family, and that all of her relatives look like celebrities. Ironically, it was her beauty that compelled the judges to eliminate her from Cycle 5, making her the first girl to be sent home from the show. The judges felt that the only thing Ashley was banking on to win the competition was her appearance, and when it came to modeling and posing for photographs, she was dull and lacking the “IT” factor.

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