America's Next Top Model is a reality show in the United States in which contestants are aspiring professional models. These days is news because in the last season, which began on August 5, 2015, among the 14 candidates there was a Deaf person who uses Sign Language: Nyle DiMarco. He is 25 years old and is from Washington DC.
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| Nyle DiMarco (photo: Instinct Magazine) |
This was Nyle's video presentation for the TV contest (ASL, optional English subtitles):
But Nyle is not the first Deaf sign language user to step into this professional field. Many other Deaf people are trying their luck with more or less success, but always demonstrating to the world that Deaf people have much to contribute in the field of fashion and beauty. These are some of the people, all women and users of Sign Language, who have had the most repercussion in the media at the international level:
Vanessa Peretti, Miss Venezuela International 2006 and Miss Personality. She was 20 years old when she participated in the Miss Venezuela contest. Below the image you can see her, even if it is not of good quality, in a video during the Miss Venezuela 2006 contest.
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| Vanessa Peretti (photo: @Vanessa_Peretti) |
Brenda Costa, Brazilian model born in 1982. She was cover story in the French edition of Elle magazine and appeared in some L'Oreal campaigns. She is also known for having been attributed a sentimental relationship with Ronaldo and for having married Karim Al Fayed, also Deaf (which few people know). Karim is the son of Mohamed Al Fayed, a millionaire Egyptian businessman, and brother of Dodi Al Fayed, who died in France in the car of Diana, Princess of Wales.
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| Brenda Costa (photo: El Mundo) |
Sophie Vouzelaud, Miss France 2007, born 1987. She coincided in the Miss World 2007 contest with Vanessa Peretti. She can be seen in numerous videos on YouTube, for example, the one below this photo (from minute 1:44).
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| Sophie Vouzelaud (photo: Festival Un Autre Regard) |
Fuentes:
- Hola! (2005, October, 3): "El nuevo amor de Ronaldo se llama Brenda Costa y es sordomuda de nacimiento". Retrieved from: http://www.hola.com/famosos/2005100330837/famosos/ronaldo/novias/
- Instinct Magazine (2015, August, 7): 'America's Next Top Model Welcomes Its First Deaf Contestant--And We're In Love!!'. Retrieved from http://instinctmagazine.com/post/americas-next-top-model-welcomes-its-first-deaf-contestant-and-were-love
- Lankston, C. (2015, August, 3). Being deaf gives me a huge advantage over everyone else: America's Next Top Model's first ever deaf contestant on why he refuses to let his disability hold him back. In Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3184467/I-huge-advantage-America-s-Model-s-deaf-contestant-reveals-disability-helps-stand-crowd.html
- McEntee, J. (2008, February, 14). Fayed's unknown tragedy. In The Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-514240/Fayeds-unknown-tragedy.html
- McGlensey (2015, July, 31). America’s Next Top Model Welcomes Its First Deaf Contestant. In The Mighty. Retrieved from http://themighty.com/2015/07/americas-next-top-model-welcomes-its-first-deaf-contestant/
- Perfil (w/d): 'Venezuela delira por sordomuda que ganó un concurso de belleza'. Retrieved from http://www.perfil.com/internacional/Venezuela-delira-por-sordomuda-que-gano-un-concurso-de-belleza-20060915-0014.html
- Revista Glamour (2013, December, 22): "A brasileira surda que vive um conto de fadas". Retrieved from http://revistaglamour.globo.com/Na-Real/noticia/2013/12/brasileira-surda-que-vive-um-conto-de-fadas.html
- Simón, P. (2007, May, 15). Brenda Costa, la 'top' en Madrid. In El Mundo. Retrieved from http://www.elmundo.es/yodona/2007/05/14/moda/1179142252.html
- Wang, Y. (2015, August, 7). His modeling photos got him noticed, but didn’t show one thing: He’s deaf. In The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/own-your-identity-the-first-deaf-contestant-on-americas-next-top-model/2015/08/07/6ef1d3b4-39f1-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html
