Long-Legged Teen with a Tiny Waist Chosen as America’s Next Top Model

[ 12/2/2010 ]

A teenage girl who drew attention because her waist appeared slim enough to be encircled by a man’s two hands has been chosen as a top model in the United States. Ann Ward (19), from Dallas, Texas, won ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ In the finale broadcast on the CW network, Ward defeated fellow contestant Chelsey Hersley. She earned a modeling opportunity with Vogue and a $100,000 CoverGirl cosmetics contract. During the preliminary round in August, Ward’s 6-foot-2 height and exceptionally slim waist prompted debate about the health of very thin models. When a judge wrapped both hands around her waist and his fingers touched, he called her “the person with the smallest waist in the world.” According to the Daily Mail, Ward said, “I was bullied at school for being tall and thin from an early age. Many people who called me abnormal later apologized to me.”