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Misc. Reviews
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"AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL"
Yoanna House
Our conversation began by congratulating the beauty on her win. "Thank you so much! I'm on cloud 9". Yoanna claimed she didn't feel much like a celebrity. "I don't know if I'm a celebrity. Everything is so exciting." After winning the Top Model prize, Yoanna had to return home and keep the secret.... for 5 1/2 months! We confessed that we would want to tell the world, but Yoanna had a different view. "I came home and chilled. I never really wanted to give away the secret. (laughing) I liked to watch people squirm on certain episodes. Sometimes I'd play it like 'I don't know my chances.' Some people didn't know how it worked. They thought we would have to go back and film the ending." Yoanna agrees that winning has changed her life "very much so". The best part? "Getting a chance to live in New York City and meeting incredible people." Amongst those people have been designers and magazine people etc. She has already begun working some shows and is having fun. But we had to know: was there anything about her life before winning that she missed? 
"Yes... a lot. Uhh...little bits, like living in my hometown... just being there. Living in New York City is fun and fast paced. I'm not used to it. And not having my family around because we are really close." How supportive was her family while she was on the show? "My family was very supportive. The show came on at midnight and they would stay up watching. (laughing) They were so groggy at work. I'd say 'Mom - you stayed up until 1!' and she would just say she loved the show."Throughout the course of the show we had heard about Yoanna's grandmother's influence in her life. Was she the person that inspired her to become a Top Model? "In a way, yes. I'd have to say so. I was always in her closet. We would watch TV... read magazines... go to the mall. She taught me about Couture and how important it was. A lot of my appreciation came from her." With the fashion bug coursing through her veins from a young age you would think Yoanna would jump at the chance to audition for the show. Turns out she had her doubts. "My best friend sent me an e-mail. I was very pessimistic. I thought there would be so many girls, and that I didn't have a chance." We pointed out that she obviously did have a chance. Yoanna just laughed, "Yes - I guess I did!" The show filmed for 3 months, and wasn't entirely what she expected. "A lot of it is behind the scenes. The production..I was very surprised. We had to sacrifice a lot. I don't want to sound like a complainer, but it was a little difficult." The biggest challenge? "Lack of sleep" which got me laughing. "I'm serious. People ask why we carry such big bags," Yoanna begins to laugh "and it's because we pack blankets so we can catch some sleep anywhere we can." Despite the lack of sleep, Yoanna and the girls had some great experiences. What did Yoanna enjoy the most? The villa in Italy. "Going to the villa and relaxing. It was the most beautiful place." 
While the girls were in Italy it was implied that Yoanna was bulimic. Any fan of the girl knows of her long battle to lose weight through work with a trainer. Was she more upset by the fact someone was trying to sabotage her or that people would simply disregard how hard she had worked? "That people would disregard how hard I had worked. As for the other girl [Camille] I don't know the reasoning behind it. To me, we were trying to get along. Why would someone say something like that? I don't know." It was at this point that Yoanna wanted to quit and go home. ("Absolutely") What made her stay? "Sleeping. I was so tired. It was the end of a 16 hour work day. We had just flown in." But a good night's sleep and the promise of a trip to Verona put Yoanna right back on track. "I thought, I have worked so hard until now. Why give up?" In interviews with the other girls we had heard rumors of Yoanna's "goofy and fun" side - yet we didn't get to see much of that. (Laughing) "I think that's it. So many people say 'wow - I feel like I know you' but they really don't. They just see a portion. I like to have fun. I'm a bit mischievous." Is there anything else we should know about her? "(Still laughing) I'm a very mischievous girl." We weren't going to take that answer and let it go. We asked for some examples. "We would do these crazy skits. We snuck out in Milan. We weren't supposed to, but we jumped out the window. We'd go to the neighbors and ask if we could use the internet. Then we would just hang out for a while, then go sneak back in the window." OK - that doesn't sound too crazy when I'm reading that - maybe it was the tone of her voice, or the laughter that accompanied it - but Yoanna did make it sound more exciting and funny than it reads here. Seriously! As the girls were exposed to all of the different aspects of modeling, Yoanna learned a lot about "the walk". She explained that there were many different types of walks for the runway. Depending on the designer, the clothes, walking in heals, walking with the music and against the music. The list went on. After Yoanna's difficulty with her walk at the beginning of the show, it is easy to see now how much she had grown and learned throughout the process. In the final runway show, Yoanna strutted her way into a well deserved win. Winning the title of America's Next Top Model was the goal of everyone on the show, but Yoanna also had other goals for herself. "To be more confident. To be myself when the cameras rolled." She offered some advice for the next group of contenders. "Really enjoy it...Take every experience in. Be emotionally strong. Don't take things personally so that it breaks you." Was she ever in danger of this herself while on the show? "No, I really don't think so." Before ending our conversation (which is so sad! She was so funny and so classy all at the same time.) Yoanna wanted to thank all of the fans out there. "Thank you for being supporters!" Look for her spread in Jane Magazine in June or July. "We're shooting it this coming week. It is going to be wild!" ~April 15, 2004
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Age: 23 years old
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