# Elite Model Look

Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the international fashion marketplace, like the similar Ford Models' Supermodel of the World contest. Each year the contest attracts some 350,000 participants from roughly 70 countries in the world, with castings held in over 800 cities. Contestants, between the ages of 14 and 26, compete in local contests for a chance to represent their country in the world final.
Notable past contestants include Laurie Holden, Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Dayana Mendoza, Melania Trump, Olga Kurylenko, Diane Kruger, Esther Cañadas, Fernanda Tavares, Frederique van der Wal, Gisele Bündchen, Inés Rivero, Isabeli Fontana, Kate Dillon Levin, Lara Stone, Juana Burga, Petra Němcová, Stephanie Seymour, Tatjana Patitz, Ujjwala Raut, Manasvi Mamgai, Azra Akin, Miriam Odemba, Andrea Escobar and Rolene Strauss.
From 1996 to 1999 the United States finals were recorded to make a television documentary special called The Making of a Supermodel, which aired on E! Entertainment Television. Online, a streaming television documentary titled Elite New Face premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2012. The series reviewed the 2011 contest, and followed the 2012 contest beginning from the regional castings all the way to the world final and the announcement of the winner. A second season following the 2013 event was also created.

## The contest

The search is open to beginning models, with the contest's mission stated as being "providing the opportunity for young girls to enter the fashion world, become models and go on to have fabulous careers" and "to discover the new talents who will become the next top models."
Contestants between the ages of 14 and 26 years are eligible to compete. Females should meet a minimum height requirement of 1.72 meters, or 5'8". Males should meet a minimum height requirement of 1.88 meters, or 6'2". Until 2014, males were only allowed to participate in national finals, with females competing in the world final.
Each country taking part in the contest selects semi-finalists in various cities who compete to become national finalists. The winners of each national contest compete together in the world final. The winners are selected based on their photogenic abilities, personality, natural beauty, and potential to fit into current fashion trends. The world final lasts two weeks, during which the finalists participate in various workshops. These include highlighting natural beauty with make-up and hair professionals, photo shoots, rehearsals for the final show, and individual interviews with members of the jury and Elite's agents.
During the final show fifteen winners are selected by a jury, and are awarded worldwide contracts with Elite Model Management. The top three contestants are offered contracts with a guaranteed remuneration.

### Titleholders

| Held | Winner | Country | Date of birth | Age | Notable participants | Reference |
| November 19, 1983 | Lisa Hollenbeck | United States | 1968-1-1 | 15 | Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Stephanie Seymour, Hunter Reno, Deborah Falconer, Jacqueline de la Vega, Claudia Ferrabraz, Martha Eugenia Ortíz, Illana Diamant, Gaby Chiarini, Monica Gripman, Ljiljana Tica | Archived 2011-11-22 at the Wayback Machine |
| August 27, 1985 | Frederique van der Wal | Netherlands | 1967-8-30 | 17 | Laurie Holden - (Canada nationals) | |
| September 15, 1986 | Maria Lindkvist | Sweden | 1972-1-30 | 14 | Karen Mulder | |
| September 4, 1987 | Debbie Chin | United States | 1969-8-26 | 18 | Helena Christensen | |
| September 15, 1988 | Kelley Browne | United States | 1973 | 15 | Philippa Lett, Kate Fischer, Catherine McCord, Michele Chalupka, Cynthia Pinot, Maria Patricia Betita - (Philippines finals) | |
| September 4, 1989 | Inés Sastre | Spain | 1973-11-21 | 15 | Natasha Henstridge | |
| September 12, 1990 | Wendy Veldhuis | Netherlands | 1971-8-26 | 19 | Georgina Grenville, Ivana Miličević, Lauren Santo Domingo, Ingrid Vandebosch, Yulia Lemigova - (USSR castings) | |
| September 4, 1991 | Ingrid Seynhaeve | Belgium | 1973-6-28 | 18 | Jennipher Rodriguez, Kate Dillon Levin, Yvonne Voni Delfos, Tamara Sedmak, Natasha Stefanenko - (USSR finals) | |
| September 15, 1992 | Mariann Molski | United States | 1976-9-24 | 15 | Ruffa Gutierrez, Diane Heidkrüger, Marta Cecchetto, Oxana Zubakova, Eugenia Silva, Nieves Álvarez, Aline Wermelinger, Amit Machtinger, Lee So-ra, Melania Knauss - (Slovenia finals) | |
| September 11, 1993 | Heidi Albertsen | Denmark | 1976-9-1 | 17 | Tatiana Zavialova, Inés Rivero, Ashley Scott, Inna Zobova - (Russia finals) | |
| September 4, 1994 | Natalia Semanova | Russia | 1979-10-1 | 14 | Gisele Bündchen, Esther Cañadas, Kristanna Loken, Sheetal Mallar, Kerry Bohm, Tatiana Nikiforova, Fabiana Saba Elenoire Casalegno, Sandra Maidana. | |
| August 20, 1995 | Sandra Wagner | Switzerland | 1978-1-1 | 17 | Irina Bondarenko, Emma B, Eihi Shiina, Lee Sun-Jin, Tracy Trinita, Carolina Magalhães, Joseane Oliveira, Isabelle Darras, Zoya Sakr, Tamara Henriksen, Alessandra Ambrosio - (Brazil finals), Caroline Ribeiro - (Brazil finals) | |
| September 7, 1996 | Diana Kovalchuk | Ukraine | 1982-2-23 | 14 | Ana Beatriz Barros, Isabeli Fontana, Katia Zygouli, Michelle Alves, Nina Morić, Petra Němcová, Ujjwala Raut, Nataša Vojnović, Jill McCormick, Olga Otrokhova, Kristina Rostad, Tarina Young, Lauren Bowles, Olga Kurylenko - (Russia nationals), Anna Azarova - (Russia nationals) | Archived 2011-09-06 at the Wayback Machine |
| September 16, 1997 | Yfke Sturm | Netherlands | 1981-11-19 | 15 | Franziska Knuppe, Juliana Martins, Viera Schottertova, Sedef Avci, Soraia Chaves, Elizabeth Perfoll | |
| September 17, 1998 | Alina Puscau | Romania | 1982-4-7 | 16 | Azra Akin, Mara Darmousli, Tatiana Kovylina, Mia Rosing, Linda Nývltová, Sandra Seifert, Ksenia Agafonova, Miranda Slabber - (Netherlands finals). | |
| September 11, 1999 | Vika Sementsova | Ukraine | 1985-7-2 | 14 | Miriam Odemba, Karishma Modi, Kate Nauta, Raica Oliveira, Lara Stone, Gamze Özçelik, Paloma Moreno, Marie-José Hnein, Maria del Mar Rosario, Kuku Trinidad - (Philippines finals), Victoria Lopyreva - (Russia regionals) | |
| September 9, 2000 | Linda Vojtová | Czech Republic | 1985-6-22 | 15 | Lourdes Arévalos, Alena Martanovicova, Arantxa Santamaria, Renata Klem, Joana Santos, Eszter Tóth, Dinna Olivia, Desirée Pallotta, Valentina Zelyaeva - (Russia nationals). | |
| September 8, 2001 | Rianne ten Haken | Netherlands | 1986-5-7 | 15 | Dayana Mendoza, Renata Ruiz, Emina Cunmulaj, Tracy Ip, Schynaider Moura, Femke Lakenmann, Bonny Bige Chen, Olga Elnikova, Irina Shadrina, Valentina Zelyaeva - (Russia nationals), Milana Keller - (Russia finals). | |
| September 7, 2002 | Ana Mihajlovic | Serbia and Montenegro | 1987-5-20 | 15 | Kenza Fourati, Ximena Huilipán, Enikő Mihalik, Ingrid Kelly, Tuğçe Kazaz, Dafne Molina - (Mexico finals). | |
| November 8, 2003 | Denisa Dvončová | Slovakia | 1988-4-30 | 15 | May Akerman, Charlott Cordes, Chiara Baschetti, Karina Rivero, Paula Verhoeven, Hanna Verboom, Rojane Fradique, May J - (Japan Finals). | Archived 2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine |
| December 2, 2004 | Sofie Oosterwaal | Netherlands | 1990-7-17 | 14 | Carolina Morán, Sofia Bruscoli, Vanessa Ceruti, Danijela Dimitrovska, Michaela Hlaváčková, Michaela Kocianova, Emma Ahlund, Inna Serpukhovitina, Svetlana Sergienko, Ria Bolivar, Jessica Amornkuldilok - (Thailand finals). | |
| November 5, 2005 | Charlotte Di Calypso | France | 1990-12-9 | 14 | Julia "Juju" Ivanyuk, Johanna Jonsson, Alba Riquelme, Hoàng Khánh Ngọc, Malena Costa Sjögren - (Spain finals), Helen Nicolette Henson - (Philippines finals). | |
| February 10, 2007 | Denisa Dvořáková | Czech Republic | 1989-5-28 | 17 | Constance Jablonski, Mirka Michlíková, Ronja Furrer, Ioana Boitor, Manasvi Mamgai, Sigrid Agren, Zivanna Letisha Siregar, Arlenis Sosa - (Dominican Republic finals), Natasha Domínguez - (Venezuela nationals)], María José Gallego. | |
| April 21, 2008 | Jennifer Messelier | France | 1991-4-23 | 16 | Rolene Strauss, Tamar Shedania, Adama Diallo, Dorothea Barth Jorgensen, Hana Jiříčková, Juana Burga Cervera, Noelia López, Ymre Stiekema, Edsa Ramírez, Kristy Agapiou, Sofia Rudieva - (Russia nationals). | |
| November 1, 2008 | Louise Maselis | Belgium | 1993-3-28 | 15 | Fei Fei Sun, Cora Emmanuel, Josefina Cisternas, Cynthia de la Vega, Jessica Duarte, Angela Ruiz - (Venezuela finals). | |
| October 18, 2009 | Julia Saner | Switzerland | 1992-2-19 | 17 | Caterina Ravaglia, Emily Smith, Ming Xi, Nyasha Matonhodze, Simona Andrejic, Caterina Ravaglia - (Italy finals), Livia Rangel - (Mexico finals) | Archived 2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine Archived 2012-01-04 at the Wayback Machine |
| October 10, 2010 | Karolina Tolkachova | Ukraine | 1992-2-18 | 18 | Erjona Ala, Hou Meng Die, Lucette van Beek, Roberta Narciso, Maria Borges - (Angola finals), Camille Cerf - (France nationals), Dulcita Lieggi - (Dominican Republic finals). | |
| December 6, 2011 | Julia Schneider | Sweden | 1996-1-1 | 15 | Lenka Hanakova, Lieve Dannau, Amra Cerkezovic, Lera Kvasovka, Joséphine Le Tutour, Li Xiao Xing, Pauline Hoarau, Lieke van Houten, Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Lan, Dhio Moreno - (Dominican Republic finals) | |
| December 1, 2012 | Marilhéa Léa Peillard | France | 1994-11-16 | 18 | Trinidad de la Noi, Manuela Frey, Ysaunny Brito, Alecia Morais, Diana Croce, Cassandra Chery, Daniela Álvarez - (Mexico finals), Vittoria Ceretti - (Italy finals) | |
| November 27, 2013 | Eva Klímková | Czech Republic | 1997-10-12 | 16 | Amilna Estêvão, Estelle Chen, Anita Zet, Viktoria Machajdik, Sunniva Halkjelsvik, Barbora Kolarikova, May Bell, Cassandra Chery, Eden Bristowe, Luba Hryniv, Anastasia Kostenko - (Russia castings) | |
| December 2, 2014 | Barbora Podzimková ♀ | Czech Republic | 1999-9-9 | 15 | Laura Strantz, Alexandra Micu, Selma Hadziosmanovic, Greta Varlese, María Romina Trotto Morales, Awa Sanoko, Vijaya Sharma, Đặng Thị Lệ Hằng, Irina Đuranović, Mayowa Nicholas, Alena Lyashenko, Yasmin Wijnaldum | |
| December 2, 2014 | James Richard Parker ♂ | Italy | 1995-12-6 | 18 | Serge Rigvava, Raphael Hatt, Jeong Woo Kim, Josef Utekal, Eduard Michalko, Aitor Andueza | |
| November 23, 2015 | Anouk Thijssen ♀ | Netherlands | 2000-7-4 | 15 | Chiara Leone, Aneta Měšťanová, Charlotte Corn, Matilde Rastelli, Annabella Bihari, Léia Matagne, María Almenta | Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine |
| November 23, 2015 | Tristan Tymen ♂ | France | 1995-8-21 | 20 | Kristian Černík, Hsu Chen, Angelo Amirante, Benjamin Aston | |
| Elite Model Look International 2016November 23, 2016 | Jana Tvrdikova ♀ | Czech Republic | 2000-12-20 | 15 | Katya Bybina, Cosima Lagae, Zara Bicha, Alina Dementieva, Amanda Denis, Holly Magson | |
| Elite Model Look International 2016November 23, 2016 | Davidson Obennebo ♂ | Nigeria | 1996-3-17 | 20 | Etienne Robert, Gideon Yendell | |
| November 29, 2017 | Valeria Chenskaya ♀ | Russia | 2002-9-6 | 15 | Mona Tougaard | |
| November 29, 2017 | Antonio Freitas ♂ | Brazil | Unknown | 17 | Mona Tougaard | |
| August 30, 2018 | Wen Di ♀ | China | Unknown | 17 | | |
| August 30, 2018 | Maksim Krintser ♂ | Russia | Unknown | 17 | | |
| November 18, 2019 | Yireh Fernanda Carrasco ♀ | Dominican Republic | Unknown | 16 | | |
| November 18, 2019 | Laetitia Ky ♀ | Côte d'Ivoire | 1996 | 23 | | |
| November 18, 2019 | Andrej Chamula ♂ | Slovakia | Unknown | 19 | | |
| January 31, 2021 | Mika Reins ♀ | Philippines | Unknown | 21 | | |
| January 31, 2021 | Lola Pierré ♀ | France | Unknown | 16 | | |
| January 31, 2021 | Jack Jerry ♂ | USA | 1997-2-12 | 23 | | |
| January 31, 2021 | Salvatore Corallo ♂ | Italy | Unknown | 16 | | |
| August 30, 2022 | Majda John Peter ♀ | South Sudan | Unknown | 17 | Sara Caballero, Ali Dansky | |
| August 30, 2022 | Sergi Shan ♂ | Spain | Unknown | 19 | Sara Caballero, Ali Dansky | |
| June 15, 2024 | Micklate Macobola ♀ | Mozambique | Unknown | 20 | | |
| June 15, 2024 | Imade Darouache ♂ | Italy | Unknown | 21 | | |
* No event was held in 1984, 2006 or 2023.

### Participating nations and regions

The following is a list of countries or regions that have participated in the Elite Model Look contest
North America
* Canada
* US
* Mexico
Central America
* Costa Rica
* Panama
Caribbean
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Bahamas
* Curacao
* Dominican Republic
* Haiti
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad & Tobago
* St. Maarten
South America
* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela
Europe
* Armenia
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Serbia & Montenegro
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Soviet Union
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* Yugoslavia
Africa
* Algeria
* Angola
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Equatorial Guinea
* Gabon
* Côte d'Ivoire
* Kenya
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Nigeria
* Republic of the Congo
* Réunion
* Senegal
* South Africa
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* Zimbabwe
Asia
* China
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Israel
* Japan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* United Arab Emirates
* Vietnam
Oceania
* Australia
* French Polynesia
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand

### Hosts

| Year | Hosts |
| 1988 | George Hamilton |
| 1993 | Ingrid Seynhaeve |
| 1996 | Ines Rivero |
| 1998 | Valeria Mazza |
| 1999 | Ingrid Seynhaeve |
| 2001 | Chantal Bolivar |
| 2003 | Ashley Scott |
| 2007 | Chantal Bolivar |
| 2011 | Nikki Reed |