Strutting for a shot at 'Top Model' fame

Hundreds of cold young women waited outside the Serramonte Center in Daly City yesterday to participate in auditions held for the popular reality show. The mall wouldn’t allow the line to begin forming until 7 a.m., however, women were there hours earlier. They came with moms, friends and blankets in tow to wait for their 20 minutes inside to smile for the camera.

Capuchino High School senior Teissa Gamble ditched class today and headed over to the mall with one of her biggest fans, 18-year-old Burlingame High School senior Jesse Little, in tow. The pair showed up to fashionably wait in line around 8 a.m. — two hours before auditions began.

"Everyone tells me I should be a model,” the perky brunette said.

Little added that Gamble has the body for it. She was in the first 50 girls to be seen, and Gamble was one of the lucky ones.

Fifty girls were called in at once and asked to line up. The camera scrolled over the girls who were asked to say their name, age, height and weight, said Gamble. Afterward, a number of girls were asked to stay. Eight women were called in Gamble’s group — including Gamble. Measurements were taken of each women, then face shots and Polaroids were taken. If chosen, Gamble will get a call before May.

Altogether Gamble dedicated a few hours to the experience. Marvita Washington from Antioch, on the other hand, started staking the place out at 3:30 a.m.

"I was laying in my car, hoping no one could see me so they wouldn’t know where to line up,” she said with a smile.

It’s worth the wait for the model-hopefuls who are after a $100,000 modeling contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, representation by a modeling agency and a photo spread in Elle or Seventeen magazine.

Lines were inside and outside of the shopping mall all morning. Not everyone was dressed for the blustery weather, like 19-year-old Mackenzie Goodmanson from Walnut Creek. Goodmanson was wearing a short pink skirt huddling against the wall trying to stay warm.

"I would have dressed differently if I knew we’d be outside,” she said.

Goodmanson won a modeling competition when she was younger, but her family couldn’t afford the industry start-up costs. She’s hoping a spot on the television show will help launch her back into the modeling world.

Longtime friends and San Carlos residents Trish Stergion and Emily Pineda were bundled up with an umbrella in tow for the long wait.

"We decided to come because, why not? You don’t have to be super skinny to be a model. Real people can do it too,” said 18-year-old Stergion.

Both girls were excited at the prospect of participating in the next show cycle, which always includes a makeover episode. If it came down to it, both girls were willing to make a change as long as their hair wasn’t dyed blonde or shaved completely off.

Past winners of the show have hit various levels of success. The first winner, Adrianne Curry, went on to reality show stardom starting in the "The Surreal Life,” where she met "Brady Bunch” star and future husband Christopher Knight. The couple shared their romance on yet another reality show, "My Fair Brady.” Yoanna House was the second winner and now hosts a style television show called "The Look for Less.”

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.