Last night, May 14, 2008, Whitney Thompson made history as the first “plus sized” or “full figured” model to win America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10 - ANTM Cycle 10. Her publicity blitz has begun. She appeared on Live with Regis & Kelly on May 15, 2008.

“People always say you have to be stick-skinny, emaciated and unhealthy and I’ve kind of stood up for [being full-figured] my whole life,” Thompson told The Post in her first post-victory interview.

“I’m not going to lose 50 pounds - if someone asks me to do that, I’ll go to another [modeling] agency,” she says. “I’ve already heard online from boys and girls all over the world who are dealing with eating disorders.

“They’re thanking me for standing up and saying, ‘I am a plus-size model and I am beautiful.’

“This is what people should look like,” she says, referring to herself, “rather than skin-and-bones, which is disgusting and sends a bad message to people everywhere.”

It’s that outspokenness, along with her obvious self-confidence, that helped Thompson win over Anya Kop in last night’s “Top Model” finale.

Thompson, 20 - from Atlantic Beach, Fla. - says she and “Top Model” host Tyra Banks have more in common than meets the eye.

Source: NY Post: A-Plus Model ‘ANTM’ Shocker! Crowns Its First Full-Figure Winner

See also:

• Whitney Thompson wins ANTM Cycle 10 (Video & Photos) 5-14-08

Video: Whitney Thompson on “Live with Regis & Kelly” 5-15-08 (ANTM Cycle 10 Winner)

Whitney Thompson became the first “full-figured” or “plus-sized” model ever to win ANTM when she won America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10 on May 14, 2008. Her classic good looks, charming personality and curvaceous figure enabled the 20 year old student from Atlantic Beach, Florida to defy the odds against her.

The decision surprised many, as Whitney is the first plus sized girl who made it to the final three - let alone won the fierce competition.

“There’s definitely times I’ve looked in the mirror and looked at other girls and thought, I wasn’t like them,” said the the 20-year-old from Florida.

“I want other women in America to feel good about themselves…It’s amazing to be America’s Next Top Model. This is exactly what I want. This is what I’ve always wanted!”

Winning America’s Next Top Model means Whitney will be on the cover of Seventeen magazine and gets a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics represented by Elite Model Management.

Both runner ups Anya Kop and Fatima Siad were given encouragement from judges Tyra Banks and Paulina Porizkova - but they revealed it was Whitney’s personality and her classic look that made her the winner!

Source: Curvy Girl Becomes America’s Next Top Model

See also:

• Mahalo - Whitney Thompson

Here is a compilation video of Whitney Thompson’s appearances on ANTM Cycle 10.

Via: Richard Palace - Whitney Thompson

Here are the final moments of the May 14, 2008 ANTM Cycle 10 season finale in which Whitney Thompson is pronounced the winner.

Whitney Thompson wins ANTM Cycle 10 (Video & Photos) 5-14-08

“Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” Costume Institute Gala 2008 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City brought out many celebrities, public figures and luminaries. As always, this is one of the hottest — if not the absolute hottest — red carpet event of the year.

L.A. might have the Oscars, but Manhattan’s social event of the season is the annual Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala, which draws bold-faced, glammed-up names from both coasts and across the pond.

Iman and David Bowie

Beyonce

This year’s theme? Superheroes, a fitting one given the massive box-office hit that was Iron Man and summer flicks still to come: The Dark Knight, featuring the Caped Crusader, and The Incredible Hulk.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

Designer Giorgio Armani served as this year’s honorary chair, while George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Vogue editor Anna Wintour chaired the benefit.

Hilary Duff

Armani dressed Clooney and Roberts. “He asked me very sweetly if I’d be his date,” Roberts, wearing a platinum Giorgio Armani Privé gown, said about the designer, who also outfitted other A-list celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Beyoncé Knowles and John Mayer.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

The crowd buzzed as Cruise and Holmes arrived, and Holmes, in an orange strapless gown, grinned and got a little assistance climbing the steep staircase in her killer blue stilettos.

Naomi Watts

But they did not stop for interviews; neither did Beyoncé, who was without Jay-Z and without a visible wedding ring. David and Victoria Beckham, in a sequined, plunging white Armani, posed for photos the longest, vamping all the way up the staircase.

Venus Williams

Clooney was taking it all in stride. “I get to have a drink. It’s easy for me,” he said. As for the superhero theme, he said he had a favorite when he was a kid: “Well, you know, I loved one that no one ever talks about, the Green Hornet. He was really cool.”

Source: Costume gala draws fitting crowd

Kimora Lee Simmons

Janet Jackson

See also:

• Stars and Superheroes Sparkle at Museum Gala
• Previewing the Costume Institute’s Superheroes Exhibit

Mary J. Blige

See many more photographs of the Costume Institute Gala:

• Gossip Girls
• The Costume Institute Gala Saves the Day!
• Celebrities, Fashionistas and Socialites — With Their Powers Combined

Video: ET report on the 2008 Costume Institute Gala includes an interview with Gisele Bundchen

That’s the news about the exciting event that is the Met Museum Costume Institute Gala 2008