ESSENCE Announces the Five Finalists of the 'ESSENCE It Girl' Contest: Log On to Essence.com Today to Vote for Your Favorite Model to Win

NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ --The judges have spoken! Today, ESSENCE and Elite Model Management proudly announce the five finalists for its national "ESSENCE It Girl" model search contest. In February, ESSENCE and Elite Model Management kicked off its nationwide search for the new African-American "It" model in an effort to address the lack of diversity on the runways. An expert panel of judges—comprised of ESSENCE editors, Elite managers and fashion industry VIPs—evaluated entrants from three live model castings held in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York, as well as from online submissions to www.essence.com/itgirl. Now, five model hopefuls have been selected and are in the running for the ultimate grand prize: the chance to be featured in the September 2010 Fall Fashion issue of ESSENCE magazine, and to receive a one-year contract with Elite Model Management. The winner will be announced in May. The five finalists are below (photos available upon request):

• Ashley, 19, Atlanta
• Amanda, 15, Utah
• Britt, 15, New York
• Brittiany, 16, Texas
• Nataya, 20, Connecticut

"ESSENCE is excited to announce the five finalists of the 'ESSENCE It Girl' contest," said Emil Wilbekin, managing editor, Essence.com. "Each of these finalists had a certain special quality that stood out from the rest of the model hopefuls. We want viewers to log on to Essence.com to watch each of the finalists compete for the grand prize during our various modeling boot camp challenges. With your help, we will move closer to finding our 'It Girl!'"

Each of the five finalists will be flown to New York City for a special modeling boot camp, which will be documented for the Making of an It Girl web series that will debut exclusively on Essence.com beginning on May 5. During the modeling boot camp, each finalist will be asked to participate in a variety of tasks—including wardrobe challenges; runway coaching sessions; yoga workouts and more. The finalists will also participate in "fireside chats" with industry insiders such as:  celebrity fashion stylist June Ambrose; celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephens; fashion stylist Wouri Vice; make-up artist Oslyn Holder; model Damaris Lewis and others. Essence.com viewers can also go online to vote for their favorite model, and to see highlights from each of the live model castings where entrants were evaluated by judges including Essence.com managing editor Emil Wilbekin; Essence.com beauty editor Tia Williams; legendary model agent Bethann Hardison; Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes; actress Malinda Williams; agents Attienette Azille and Calvin Wilson of Elite Model Management  and more.

For more information and to vote for your favorite model, visit www.essence.com/itgirl. ESSENCE It Girl promotional partners include The Gershwin Hotel and Professional Services Firm Travel, LLC (in association with Valerie Wilson Travel, Inc.).

About Essence Communications Inc.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the leading media and communications company dedicated to African-American women.  With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is "Where Black Women Come First".  The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, Window on Our Women (WOW I & II) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 40 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of over 8 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at essence.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine