Jaslene Gonzales is America's Next Top Model

Jaslene Gonzales is the winner of the reality show America's Next Top Model Cycle 8. She has beaten Natasha Galkina, a mother, in the finals held in Australia. Jaslene received management and representation by Elite Model Management, a US$100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, and a cover and six-page spread within Seventeen magazine. Jaslene was born in Puerto Rico but was raised in Bolinbrook, Illinois. Thus, she is the first full latina to win the title.


Jaslene Gonzales

In the finale, the final three (Jaslene, Natasha and Renee Alway) must utilize everything they have learned in the competition for a commercial and a national print ad of CoverGirl. Renee struggled to look young in her shot while Natasha needed coaching from Jay Manuel to say her lines naturally and Jaslene looked absolutely beautiful as always. The judges sent one model home, before the final two competed on the runway to see who will become America's Next Top Model.

The final three were put to the test when they film a "My Life as a Cover Girl" commercial and took a CoverGirl print ad. For the commercial, the girls were told to adlib. Natasha initially wrote a script, but was told to get rid of it to sound more natural while Jaslene impressed the panel by using Spanish in her commercial shoot. All three girls were spoken of highly when the ads and the commercials go back to the judging panel, but they noted that Natasha only gives a natural smile when she's laughing, Jaslene's ad looked more like a yearbook photo, and Renee looked too old to be a CoverGirl. In the elimination, Jaslene was called first and Renee was ultimately sent home because she doesn't look fresh enough.

The next day, the two finalists went off to their Seventeen cover shoots. Tyra visited both contestants for one-on-one sessions. Natasha expressed that she never felt out of place as a Russian in an American competition because she thinks of herself as American. Jaslene explained that she went through therapy to prepare herself for the competition. In the runway show, Jaslene and Natasha walked with CariDee English from Cycle 7. The theme was evolution. Jaslene startes off weak initially but improved by the end of the show, and was noted to walk like it was natural. While Natasha had a mishap with the clothes backstage, there was no hitch in the production and the judges also noted that when her skirt fell off at the end of a walk, she made it look natural and effortless.

In the final judging, there was a debate over the strength of both contestants and both were highly favored as winners. Natasha was noted for having a striking look, but her ability to learn is both lauded and questioned. Jaslene was noted to take strong photos, but is also questioned about her ability to commercial. When the judges debated the girls runway walks, Tyra and Miss J Alexander prefered Natasha and Nigel Barker and Twiggy prefered Jaslene.
At the end of the judging, the girls were called in and Jaslene was revealed to be the winner of the competition, making her the first Latina winner and also the first winner to never be placed in the bottom two.

The finale:

Natasha, Renee and Jaslene


Jaslene and Cycle 7 winner, CariDee


Natasha and Jaslene


Jay Manuel and J. Alexander


J. Alexander, Tyra Banks and Nigel Barker