Jaslene Gonzales is "America's Next Top Model"  5/18/07

(Burbank, California) - Jaslene Gonzales, an online college admissions adviser from Chicago, was crowned the winner of the eighth cycle of The CW's hit reality series "America's Next Top Model."

The three remaining models participated in a national photo shoot for CoverGirl's Lipshine Lip Color and a "My Life as a CoverGirl" commercial. Cycle seven winner, CariDee, surprised the girls for some coaching during the final stage of the competition and the next day, the finalists faced the judges for the 11th elimination. While the judges were pleased with all of the girls' performances in the commercial, they were especially impressed with Jaslene for incorporating her Latin heritage. Natasha continued to impress the judges with her ability to use the constructive criticism to improve from week to week. The judges decided that while Renee takes gorgeous photos, her look is not as fresh and young as the others, thus eliminating Renee from the competition.

The next day, Jaslene and Natasha met with Seventeen Magazine Entertainment Director, Carissa Rosenberg for their cover photo shoot. Emotions ran high as the girls began to realize that only one of them would end up as the cover of the magazine.

The following day, Jaslene and Natasha faced off in an unconventional runway fashion show with the theme "Evolution," for Australian designers Sass & Bide, where they progressed from early women to high fashion runway models. The judges agreed that while Natasha's performance started out strong, it grew weaker throughout the challenge. Meanwhile, Jaslene grew fiercer as the runway show progressed. After the fashion show, Jaslene said, "I think I bring a fierceness on the runway. I'm the Latin spice here. I bring some extra flavor. I'm not your girl next door."

During the final elimination, the judges considered the runway performances from the final runway challenge, as well as each girl's portfolio and their overall performance throughout the competition. While the judges felt that Natasha has beautiful features, Jaslene's consistently strong photos and passion for modeling gave her the edge in the competition. "I didn't make it the first time, but now look at me. I'm America's Next Top Model. I'm a Cover Girl! And I think that shows all young women that if you have that drive - keep going, you can make it," Jaslene said after Tyra announced that she had become "America's Next Top Model."

In addition to a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant CoverGirl, this year's prize package for the winner of The CW's "America's Next Top Model" will include a contract with Elite Model Management and a cover and six-page fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

The eighth cycle of the hit reality series "America's Next Top Model" on The CW follows 13 young women as they attempt to prove they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress world of modeling. Banks, who created the show, also serves as executive producer along with Ken Mok ("Making the Band") and Anthony Dominici ("The Amazing Race").

Source: The CW Press Release