Toppa Top 10: Caribbean Supermodels

words by Eddie STATS Houghton

10. Jaslene Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)

Number 10 may have been the hardest to pick, since it is so naturally the one-to-watch spot and there are so many ones we’d like to watch. In the end we went with Jaslene Gonzalez of America’s Next Top Model fame. Although some of her growing pains and awkward first steps will be forever immortalized on youtube, the TV celebrity–and the contracts with Covergirl cosmetics and Seventeen magazine it’s engendered–have put her on the right path to stardom.

9. Omahyra Mota (Dominican Republic)

Yet another native of Dominican Republic, Omahyra may be too edgy for some but she has made her punk chic look into a brand all it’s own and translated her modeling accolades (Victoria’s Secret, People’s Most Beautiful list, etc. etc) into a larger profile for herself, making her iconic and instantly recognizable presence felt in music videos and films like X-Men and After the Sunset. All of which begs the question: is DR shaping up to be for the 2010’s what Jamaica has been for some time now; a bottomless feeder school for global stardom?

8. Arlenis Sosa-Pena (Dominica Republic)

Another striking Dominicana, Arlenis is the current face of Lancome. In addition to appearing in various editions of Vogue and Harper’s and fashion shows for Victoria’s Secret and a host of the usual suspects, she made People mag’s “100 Most Beautiful People” list last year.

7. Selita Ebanks (Cayman Islands)

A 27-year old native of George Town, Grand Cayman, Selita’s career has been defined by her work as a model–and then Angel–for Victoria’s Secret. But she has also done campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilgifer, Levi’s and appeared in the 2007 Swimsuit edition of SI. All the right moves, in other words, for a supermodel on the come up.

6. Sessilee Lopez (Dominican Republic)

Although relatively young in the fashion game, this beauty of Domican, Afro-American and Portuguese descent has already strutted her elegantly long frame and piercing eyes to the top, appearing on one of the four covers of Vogue Italia’s all-black everything issue–putting her on a par with Naomi and Liya Kebede. Although she has appeared in plenty of other mags and some major campaigns, her main claim to fame is still on the runway–where she has walked for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and Hermes.

5. Louise Vyent (Surinam)

Another pioneering 80s model, Vyent may also be the most under-rated on this list–on both counts: Caribbean and supermodel. But with multiple Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Glamor covers in the 80s, appearances in SI’s swimsuit issue and the Victoria secret catalog–not to mention a major Revlon campaign–this browning of Dutch/Surinamese descent was clearly a force to be reckoned with. More importantly, she ALSO appeared opposite Eddie in Boomerang as “woman from Holland”–which is how we knew she was predestined to be on this list.

4. Cindy Breakespeare (Jamaica)

Winner of the Miss World crown in 1976, Cindy Breakespeare is more of a beauty queen than a top fashion model but there is no doubt that her win opened doors for every other Caribbean model on this list–and symbolized small-axe Island triumph in the 70s. Around the same time, her relationship with Bob Marley enthroned her as unofficial Jamaican royalty (Breakespeare was Marley’s lover and is mother of Grammy-winning musician Damian Marley aka Jr. Gong)–and propelled her into the rarefied celebrity realm of the supermodel.

3. Grace Jones (Jamaica)

Jones is first and foremost a style icon, and her successful modeling career was the gateway drug that lead her into her career as a permanent celebrity. Along the way she has lead several lifetimes worth of interesting lives; voicing Sly & Robbie riddims for Island records, acting as art-world muse to Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, taking a turn as a Bond girl (or was it Bond villain?) squaring off with Eddie Murphy in Boomerang (apparently it is a natural law that a reference to either Eddie Murphy or Shabba Ranks must surface in every Top 10. Or James Bond. Or all 3.)–and biting Adam Ant’s face in Honda scooter ads. We could go on all day about this woman and her game-changing effect on the worlds of fashion, art, film and music. And someday we probably will, but for now we’ll just leave it with this: Never change, Jonesy, never change.

2. Tyson Beckford (Jamaica/Panama)

It is somewhat painful to put a man in the number 2 spot when there are so many stunning women to be recognized–too many to be contained in a top 10, in fact. But let’s be honest, Tyson is the only male model who can claim the supermodel title–the only male model who has ever reached household-name status in fact. All that for a Jamaican brother from the Bronx who was discovered by the Source Magazine! Plus, he is just so clearly the Homecoming King to Naomi’s Queen. Like Naomi, Tyson’s Afro-Caribbean genes are leavened with a dash of black chiney, and these two by themselves are enough to put the Fear of a Black China into any eurocentric ideals of beauty that are still lurking around the fashion world.

1. Naomi Campbell (Jamaica)

Technically, Ms. Campbell was born in the UK to parents of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese Jamaican descent, respectively. But we’ll be DAMNED if we let those pasty-faces claim our gal, arguably the most superpower supermodel of them all; more statuesque, more diva-ish, more regal than the other 5 of the “Big Six” (who dominated the industry at the height of the supermodel phenomenon) combined. She got engaged to the bassist from U2 but no mere musician could ever hope to be half the rockstar she is; singlehandedly integrating the eurocentric fashion world of the early 90s, popping up in Madonna and George Michael videos, raising millions of dollars for charity and accepting uncut diamonds from African dictators in the middle of the night. She’s not the one to test–and lest we forget, she literally punched a paparazzo while we were filing this story!

Honorable mentions and girls to watch: Jaunel McKenzie, Nadine Wills, Cindy Wright