Finals 16 in Australia's Next Top Model revealed

THE claws have been sharpened and more back stabbing is ahead, with the search for the next modelling superstar well underway.

Hosted by Sarah Murdoch, Australia's Next Top Model is bigger than ever this year, with an increased number of finalists ready to strut their stuff and prove they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress world of modelling.

A total of 16 girls have been chosen this year - compared to 13 in past years - to appear in the upcoming sixth season, premiering on Fox8 in July.

Priscilla Leighton Clark, the founder of Priscilla's Model Management, says she's always so impressed by the girls discovered by the show.

"This season we have really been blown away by the calibre of models entering the competition," said Clark, a guest judge on past series.

"The momentum has built and Australian girls now understand that you can have a wonderful international modelling career from being discovered through the show.

"We are particularly excited this year to see such a broad mix of girls in the finals and, as a result, have had to increase the talent pool to see who will surface as this year's winner."

Finalists range in age from 16 to 20 with three contestants from NSW, five from Victoria, three from Queensland, three from South Australia and three from Western Australia.

Over the next few months the cameras will follow the contestants as they undertake various modelling assignments and tasks designed to turn them into model material.

Australian fashion designer Alex Perry and model-turned-TV personality Charlotte Dawson will be again be joined on the judging panel by international fashion photographer Jez Smith, who will reprise his judging role from season three.

The 16 finalists are:

- Ashton Flutey, 18, NSW
- Chantal Croccolo, 19, NSW
- Kelsey Martinovich, 19, NSW
- Alison Boxer, 16, Vic
- Ashlea Monigatti, 16, Vic
- Megan Jacob, 17, Vic
- Sophie Van Den Akker, 19, Vic
- Amanda Ware, 17, Qld
- Kathryn Lyons, 20, Qld
- Kimberley Thrupp, 20, Qld
- Brittney Dudley, 16, SA
- Joanna Broomfield, 18, SA
- Valeria Nilova, 16, SA
- Claire Smith, 18, WA
- Jessica Moloney, 19, WA
- Sally Geach, 18, WA

America's Next Top Model 12 ANTM Winner, Teyona Photo Portfolio

This is a fan page for Cycle 12 of America's Next Top Model. ANTM's 12th season was won by Teyona in May, 2009.

America's Next Top Model season 12 winner is Teyona! International destination was Brazil. Season 12 was underwhelming compared to previous installments.

Aminat was clearly robbed of her victory. She was the obvious choice to win, the most 'model like' of all the contestants. Aminat was constantly compared to Naomi Campbell, the body type, the walk, she was many times termed the 'perfect' model. Aminat, in her makeover, was even given a Naomi Campbell style of hair - a long, straight weave.

Allison, the doe-eyed, or actually more like crazy-eyed model, stayed too long in the competition and should have never made top 2. Allison's walk was terrible, her stare in pictures was always the same 'question mark' and she didn't actually improve as much as other girls week to week.

View Teyona's picture portfolio and see all America's Next Top Model Winners and their Picture Portfolios and best of season Photos.

Kimberly in America's Next Top Model

The second eliminated model from this season of America's Next Top Model was small-town girl Kimberly. She made an impression only for some mean marks to Heather and Tyra's opinion that she looked a little 'hoochie', and it wasn't enough to keep her in the competition, saving this season's resident bitch Bianca for another week.

Kimberly took some time out from pursuing her career in modeling to talk about her portrayal on the show. She auditioned in season 8 and didn't even make the judges radar, so after a change in her hair and a little working out, she tried again this season and was surprised to make it onto the show. "I had sent in a video submission in January and then I got a phone call from the casting director saying that they wanted to meet me at the open call, but we'd be in a separate group. So, I did that, and you just go in with like 500 other girls and first they look at you and say 'stay, stay, stay, no thank you, no thank you' and then they whittle that down. And then they do it again. Then they bring the girls that are left back and you do interviews, you pretty much say who you are, where you are from, why you should be America's Next Top Model and then you do a runway walk and they whittle you down again. Then they are like 'ok, don't call us, we'll call you and in two months, this is the deadline day, if we don't call you by then, then it's a no.' So I was crossing off the days, and I'm like 'oh my god, I only have 3 days left' and I finally got a phone call from Tyra saying that I was in the semi-finals and I freaked out, you saw that in the first episode."

Being from a small town in Florida, she hadn't done a lot of modeling before. "My dad has been taking pictures of me since I was a little girl, if that counts. He actually entered me without my understanding into this Ocala next top model contest. The top 5 got to be in a photo shoot and then the town would vote, but it wasn't really modeling, it was the whole 'smile and cheese' kind of photo shoot, so that definitely wasn't any kind of modeling. No, I don't think I had any experience other than the regular 'say cheese' kind of modeling."

The rock climbing photo shoot posed a special challenge to a lot of the girls, and Kimberly was no exception. "It was definitely not a piece of cake. I love rock climbing. I've been doing it since I was a kid and stuff, but definitely not in 9 inch heels and a flowy dress with no bra. That's definitely a challenge in its own." Mixed signals may have played a role in Kimberly's poor photograph. "It was really fun but the photographer was telling us, ok give us sexy and glamorous and then Mr. Jay wasn't really saying anything, but every once in a while he'd be like 'be fierce' or something completely different, so you're like, who do I listen to, the photographer or Mr. Jay. I took as much as I could from both, listening probably more to the photographer, because it was his photo shoot."

Despite the trouble with this shoot, she thought she did very well. "I thought that I was doing really good with what I had been told to do and I feel robbed really. I didn't feel like I was judged fairly. I know they didn't pick my best pictures to show at panel so that definitely bums me out."