Where CariDee English From America's Next Top Model Is Today
"America's Next Top Model," which first aired in 2003, was a pop culture phenomenon that spawned spin-offs around the globe, and brought in fresh faces each season. But what happens after the cameras go off? For CariDee English, winner of cycle 7 in 2006, she's stayed in the spotlight. In large part, that's thanks to something she thought would keep her out of the modeling world forever, having psoriasis (via Health).
English modeled some before being on the show, but her psoriasis caused problems in her early modeling days. "At 17, I joined a modeling agency, hiding my psoriasis behind layers and layers of makeup all over my body. But during one photo shoot by the ocean, the makeup washed off. The agency fired me," she told Health.
She started a new dermatology treatment and went to "America's Next Top Model" auditions where she was up against 6,000 other girls. She got picked for the show, and then went on to win the entire thing, which gave her a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl, a modeling contract with Elite Models, and a cover and six-page editorial spread in Seventeen magazine (via Insider). She didn't let her disease stop her then, and she hasn't let it stop her now.
Caridee English is not just a fashion model, but a role model
The show wasn't her last time on the runway; according to her website, she's been seen at fashion weeks around the world: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Honduras, Paris, Puerto Rico, Ireland and Canada, and on the covers of plenty of magazines: Seventeen, Healthy Living, Runway, Self, Cover Magazine, Inked, Social Life, Vogue Knit, and American Salon.
Beyond modeling, she was also a host of the Oxygen show "Pretty Wicked" in 2009 (via CY Interview). Plus, she spent some time recording music with the likes of Better Than Ezra.
What's English is best known for, however, is how she has used her celebrity status to help others with psoriasis. She explained to Health, "I became a spokesperson for the National Psoriasis Foundation to advocate for the 7.5 million Americans living with the disease. I also lobbied Congress to enact the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act to get more funding to research this condition." It looks like she's not just a fashion model, but a role model who's moved beyond setbacks and works to make the world a little better.
English helps spread her inspirational message of fighting for what you want, no matter what, as a motivational speaker. If you want her at your next function, she's available for live events to the tune of $20,000 to $30,000 (via AAE Speakers).