Melissa Juratowitch, the girl with the self-proclaimed seven-finger forehead, has taken out the highest prize in Australia’s Next Top Model.
Last night, Melissa beat out fellow finalists Shanali Martin and Nyadak ‘Duckie’ Thot for a whole host of prizes including a one year IMG Sydney contract, a Harper’s Bazaar cover, Nissan Dualis, $20,000 and a trip to Paris.
Melissa had been a frontrunner for much of the competition, partly in thanks to her otherworldly features that consistently photographed beautifully. Alex Perry and Charlotte Dawson had both tipped Melissa to win, with Didier Cohen favouring social media favourite Duckie.
“I can’t believe it, I can’t fathom what is going on right now,” Melissa exclaimed as she took the top prize.
Judges Jennifer Hawkins, Alex Perry, Charlotte Dawson and Didier Cohen culled the contestants from the original fifteen down to three, and audiences decided the winner via SMS and online voting.
The night included two runway shows, one featuring British buzz band Rudimental and the other Ricki-Lee, during which the girls strutted their stuff in high fashion by Alex Perry, Romance Was Born, Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli and Valentino.
Cirque de Soleil also gave an enthralling performance of their Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour show and Harper’s Bazaar editor Kellie Hush made an appearance, informing the finalists that the winner will be styled in Hermes, Christian Dior and Helmut Lang for their shoot— chic indeed!
Naturally, the finale wasn’t without dramas, but luckily it wasn’t too serious — Alex Perry took a tumble on stage that required attention from paramedics! Here’s hoping Mr Perry has fully recovered this morning. In fact, apart from the strangling incident earlier in the season which saw one girl disqualified, there have been no major incidents throughout the whole season— and thankfully no repeat of the 2010 misreading of the winner!
In the lead up to the finals, the girls were reportedly nervous about the public voting, stating that it was more of a popularity contest than modelling competition, and that the winner was more likely to be voted in on personality than modelling abilities.
Especially concerned was winner Melissa who thought her introverted personality might not have made as much of an impact as her fellows contestants more bubbly behaviour.
“I was really quiet in the show and so I took these last few months, in preparation for the finale, to get my personality out there and create an interest,” she said.
Before the winner was announced, Charlotte Dawson told media that regardless of who was the winner on the night, each of the girls was fully prepared for an international modelling career.
“These top three girls realistically have the ability to line-up with international models in London, New York and Paris, so for me I am happy for the public to decide,” Dawson said.
Congratulations to Melissa for her amazing win— we can’t wait to see where her career takes her!
Click through to see our gallery of highlights from the AusNTM winner and other finalists during the season.
