Yoanna House (born April 9, 1980 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American fashion model and television personality. She was the winner of Cycle 2 of America's Next Top Model in 2004 and is currently the host of The Look for Less on the Style Network.
House was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida; her father, a physician, is from Canada, and her mother is from Mexico.[2] From early childhood, House showed great interest in fashion, which she claims was spurred by her grandmother, saying in an interview: "I was always in her closet. We would watch TV, read magazines, go to the mall. She taught me about couture and how important it was. A lot of my appreciation came from her." [3]
After graduating from Bishop Kenny High School[4], House attended the University of Florida, majoring in International Relations and Asian Studies.[2] Around this time, House also began to pursue a career in fashion modeling, but claimed she found her options limited because she was overweight. She says she eventually lost 60 pounds after changing her diet and adopting an exercise plan.[5]
In early 2004, after losing weight, House appeared on Cycle 2 of America's Next Top Model. After reaching the finale with fellow contestant Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, House was named the winner of her season. As the winner of America's Next Top Model, House won a contract with IMG Models, the cover of cosmetics catalog Sephora, and a photo spread in Jane magazine.[6]
House made her debut as a runway model at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2004, walking for fashion designers Petro Zillia, Custo Barcelona, Sue Wong, and John Sakalis.[7][2] Her most visible modeling assignments immediately after her win include a commercial for the Declare Yourself voting campaign and a cover story for Psychology Today magazine[8][9]. She became host of The Look for Less in 2005, replacing Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The following year, House was named "the face" of The CW network[10], appearing in commercials and web advertisements for the fledgling network. In overseas projects, she signed with Danish modeling agency, 1st Opinion Model Management[11] and won a contract with Careline, an Israeli cosmetics company.[2]
