The 25 y.o. Caymanian New Yorker turned supermodel is one of the fiercest brown sistas to ever grace a runway. Prior to her role as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, Selita’s modelling debut officially took place in February 2001 at the fall Tuleh fashion show in New York. She later went on to walk for Catherine Malandrino, James Coviello, and Baby Phat, before signing a contract with Victoria’s Secret in 2005 and walking for Christian Siriano’s September 2008 show in New York.
With her beautifully structured jawbone and exotic features, the 5′9″ goddess landed a spot in last year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and as one of ‘People magazine’s Most Beautiful People in the World’. This year, she was featured on the cover of British GQ, and Esquire magazine alongside her fellow Victoria’s Secret Angels under the headline “75 Years of Women”. In April, Forbes named Selita as the world’s twelfth highest-paid model, having made a reported $2.7 million in the past year!
One of Selita’s greatest accomplishments began in 2004 when she started the ‘Stardom Youth Foundation’, a talent school in her native hometown. She is also very active in other charity foundations, so her wish for the 2008 holidays was:
“I’m a giver, so I want to be able to tell the women in my charity [the Women's Coalition for Empowerment and Opportunity] that I have raised enough money to build a birthing center in Sierra Leone. That is my greatest holiday wish.”
- Selita Ebanks to PEOPLE Magazine
Wow. She really is an angel!
I think Selita is beautiful. I don’t think she is the model of the year though. Selita doesn’t really do fashion, she does cheesecake stuff like Victoria’s and Sports Illustrated.
I think the top model of 2008 by far was Jourdan Dunn. Jourdan did tons of editorials in almost every top selling fashion magazine. She also had a lot of covers in 2008 and walked the haute couture runways in Paris and New York.
2008 was Jourdan’s year!
To be clear; I don’t think that Selita is a bad choice. I just think that Jourdan had an amazing year. :)
Agreed, Jourdan did her thing this year, but Brown Sista is not gonna do the same thing everyone else is doing. If it’s not Jourdan Dunn, then it’s Chanel Iman, but you hear about those ladies all year-round. I think Selita deserves to be honored, because she is an amazing model, and runway walker, but everyone is just thinking — she only does Victoria’s Secret and catalog stuff basically.
She was chosen because she has a lot of major accomplishments, like her charities, and ‘Model of the Year’ isn’t just because she poses well in underwear. I rather not be generic, and want to open eyes to other Brown Sistas, because face it — we sometimes get overlooked.
* A lot of Brown Sistas, especially models, did well this year. So kudos to all.
@Fashionista101
Okay, I see what you are saying. I agree that Selita deserves being recognized.
All-in-all despite the way 2008 started out for Black models it actually turned out to be a good year.
Eh…Selita doesn’t do it for me(no homo) :lol:
I love Selita’s style as well, but since it is model of the year I think Chanel Iman is a top runner-up.
I DON’T EVEN KNOW JORDAN SO GOOD JOB SELITA!! LOL
i don’t think selita had that great of a year. especially, modelling all i saw was victoria’s secret and it wasn’t anything special.
THATS MY GIRL SHE KILLED IT ON VICKY CAT WALK
I think it’s shameful when they are only less than a handful of black models to even consider for the Model of the Year. I’m so over Selita…next, please!
Nice pick for Selita
I like her style, she is classy!
I need to buy the shoes she’s wearing on picture # 3!
If I had vote, it would have been for Nana Campbell or Liya Kebede! really like those 2!