found an article about selita on 944.com. whatever the magazine is, she's on this months cover.
HIGH-HEELED HOPES
SELITA EBANKS AIMS
December 26, 2006
It starts with the right foot. The strong push off from the ball of the foot that leads the rest of the body down the catwalk. Shoulders straight as the hair extensions, back firmly arched, hips jutting out like a hand hailing a taxi and then the swish — the flawless movement that makes the runway look like sand and the model an oasis. During the Victoria Secret’s Fashion Show, Selita Ebanks graces the runway, never faltering or flailing but gliding with graceful inhibitions.
She can barely see you.
Not because a beauty like her won’t acknowledge the little people, but because her eyesight is so poor that she relies on contacts for well over the allotted 12 hour time period. “I can barely see! I wear my contacts for so long that my eyes are red, dry and I look crazy!” Ebanks laughs. “That’s why I’m getting Lasik tonight. I’m excited and a little nervous, but at least I’ll be able to see!”
In her early 20s, Ebanks has seen more than most people three times her age. Growing up in George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, she spent her childhood in a little shack with a zinc roof where bedbugs were nightly visitors. But, she doesn’t want to give you the wrong impression. “Growing up in the early ’90s, life was very simple on the island. Some people think of it as a Third World Country but they’re looking from the outside. We had everything we needed. If we were ever hungry, we would climb a mango tree and cut one down. We would just grab a coconut and eat it,” Ebanks reminisces.
“I read an article recently that said I didn’t have shoes — that was not the case! My mother always made sure we had shoes but my brothers and I didn’t want to wear them,” she says. “We wanted to be natural and quite honestly I was a bit of a tomboy who liked to run around and play. Now that I live in the big city, I really miss things being simple. It’s like Biggie Smalls says, ‘More money, more problems.’”
A self-proclaimed “yes woman,” Ebanks is a giver. Fiercely loyal and determined to give back, she has started a foundation in the islands called Stardom, where budding child entertainers can excel and hone in on their craft. “I go back to the islands for the Star Me [event] and to help in the community. It’s actually funny because sometimes I don’t tell my family and they find out I am there and it’s a near riot,” Ebanks says.
In a perfect karmic world, her selflessness has helped her become the supermodel she is today. “When I was in high school [in New York] I was really involved and wanting to make a change. I was president of a small division in a mentor program and we annually took a field trip to Great Adventures [in New Jersey]. I went through a turnstile and this guy scouted me,” she recalls. “I was bugging because six months earlier I had gone to Ford Modeling Agency and they said I was ‘too short and didn’t have ‘it.’ I was fine with that because I was going to college, taking NYU law classes,” Ebanks says of her journey to being discovered. “I had already interned at Spin and Vibe magazines. I was fine with Ford passing and then this guy comes up and is like, ‘No! Everyone will love you!’ and took my Polaroids. I ended up at Elite.”
The catwalk isn’t the only thing Ebanks plans to conquer. Delving into acting and singing Ebanks says her mother knew she was a born entertainer. “My mother always tells this story. She’s always rubbing it in! I must have been 6 or 7 and whenever company came over, I would make them sit down on the couch, I would put on my Soka tapes and do cartwheels and dance and sing. Then I would pretend that I was a waitress and serve everyone drinks.” Like many before her, she understands that modeling can be a bridge to bigger things in the entertainment industry. She says, “Acting for me is so amazing. It’s therapeutic. I can be someone else and let loose. 2007 is my year to conquer that and I definitely have some amazing things on the forefront.”
Looks as though Selita Ebanks has perfectly clear vision after all.
and some pics
she looks awesome in the pics and i love the interview. she has a great personality!! for all those who say they don't know why she's an angel, it's her personality that puts her heads and shoulders above the other girls vs could have picked.
gisele
