She may not be getting an endorsement deal from Colgate anytime soon, but Danielle Evans will have to make do as the next face of CoverGirl.
The gap-toothed Little Rock native successfully out-fierced, out-strutted and out-posed the competition to be named America's Next Top Model in Wednesday night's finale.
Evans, a 20-year-old babysitter, beat out fellow finalists Jade, 26, the diva restaurant hostess who waited--in vain, as it turns out--for the judges to acknowledge her destiny as a supermodel, and Joanie, 24, the blond-haired, blue-eyed sales associate who seemingly could not take a bad picture and was the odds-on favorite to win.
Still, it was Evans who nabbed the grand prize, a veritable just-add-model kit for success. She took home a contract to be represented by Ford Models, a $100,000 CoverGirl contract and a spread in Elle magazine shot by "world-renowned" photographer Gilles Bensimon.
"When Tyra called my name it was shocking," Evans said of her win. "I went into the competition not expecting anything. For a moment when she called my name, I remember looking at the screen like, 'Oh my God, that's me on that screen.' I am actually living my dream right now.
"I've wanted to be a model since I was 12, but not just a model--a supermodel," the nearly 6-ft. tall catwalker told People.
And she's well on her way, thanks to the tough-love advice of judges Tyra Banks, Twiggy, photographer Nigel Barker and runway coach "Ms." J. Alexander.
The panel may have heaped weekly praise on the would-be cover girl for her photogenic qualities, but had nary a kind word about what were, to them, significant liabilities.
After being prodded by Banks and warned she would never sign a makeup contract given her imperfect smile, Evans closed --though not completely--the signature gap between her front teeth.
"If I didn't decide to close the gap, I possibly would have been going home," said Evans, who originally opposed the dental work. "I am a very smart girl. Yes, I was upset initially, but I am not stupid. I compromised. I got it closed a little, but I still have a bit of my signature trademark."
The model-in-training's uphill battle continued via routine blastings from the judges for being virtually incomprehensible. Her heavy southern twang was deemed unacceptable for a would-be spokesperson.
"I didn't realize I had an accent until I watched myself on television!" she said.
She might not have it for long.
After naming Evans the winner of the UPN competition, Banks vowed to hire a vocal coach to make the aspiring strutter a little less Eliza Doolittle and a little more Audrey Hepburn.
But Banks said that speech is the only thing she's going to try and change in Evans.
"Danielle is an amazing model. She was really good when she first started. Top Model just made her take it to the next level. She is so bubbly and non-edited and so beautiful from the inside out. It is beautiful when someone can be non-edited but not be vulgar. She is pure and fresh and crazy. She is just special. It touches your heart."
Banks' latest protégé wrapped up her ANTM run in Thailand, where the final challenges took place, but her next stop may well be Italy, if her latest goal comes true.
"I really want to do a runway show for DSquared and Valentino," she told People.
But she hasn't gone diva yet. Evans says the first spoils of her victory will go to buying her mother a brand-new car.
"Winning the whole competition is definitely going to help my family," she told ET. "My mother doesn't have to want for anything anymore. I don't plan on just stopping at winning America's Next Top Model, I want to take over the modeling industry, and that's what I plan to do!"