2050 replies to this topic

[Potes]

Favorite movie: Whale Rider? I see how you roll, Keisha Castle-Hughes, and no, you're not fooling anyone.

[Navelgazer]

She is actually my early favorite. I predict top 3. She won't win, since she's a shorty, and Tyra & Co won't let another shorty win this cycle...but I think she's the most current-looking of the bunch (most have a kind of 80's or 90's vibe). She's got that Gemma Ward doll-like face, as well as ambiguous ethnicity and androgyny going on. She also looks YOUNG which is an asset, I think.

[Hairymango]

Navelgazer hit it on the head. Gone are the days when models had to be teenagers who looked 30. Now they're 18 and look 14. As Heather Marks, Jessica Stam, and the ubiquitous Gemma Ward prove, cute is in. Naima photographs the youngest of the group so she's got a shot.

Edited by Hairymango, Feb 8, 2005 @ 3:06 PM.

[Ona]

Very pretty. Hopefully she is self-aware enough to do something with it.

[PerpetualKid]

*channels Elf* I know her! I KNOW her!
Well, I knew her a few years back when I was fresh outta high school. She modeled with my girl here in Detroit and the surrounding areas. I even have a picture of all of us at some club tucked away somewhere. I don't have any spoilers, but I wanted to add that home girl is very CUTE in person. I still got the most numbers when we went out, but I have a ghetto booty and that may have helped a bit. Anyway, she is very adorable in person, very sweet, but can be somewhat aloof from time to time. Then again, who isn't? I'm pulling for her, even if in my heart of hearts I see her ending up like Kesse (or how ever the hell you spell it) from Cycle 1.

Edited by PerpetualKid, Feb 8, 2005 @ 4:33 PM.

[Sukey Tawdry]

That's cool. I think she's my favorite from what I can tell from two pictures. She has a somewhat unusual look going, but in a pretty way not a Lluvy way. She looks like she could do fashion (as opposed to a couple of the other contestants who are Stuff magazine all the way). Love her eyes and eyebrows.

Edited by Sukey Tawdry, Feb 8, 2005 @ 4:47 PM.

[luckyphooey]

PerpetualKid, can you tell us what her ethnicity is?

[Ona]

She really stands out in the red promo pic. Ok, I changed my mind, she can be my 2nd favorite.

[pigtard]

This show has a history of (offensively, IMO) singling out one girl as "exotic" and praising her for it. I predict that Naima will be that girl, and she will be urged to embrace her ethnic heritage, whatever it is.

[Hairymango]

Ethnicity? She's every woman. It's all in her.

[Jaci85]

She's my fav. She looks very devon aoki-sih. Very cute.

[Soup]

PerpetualKid, the UPN website lists her as a coffee shop waitress. Do you know where at exactly? Also, which city is she from? I'm assuming it's a city or suburb in the metro area and not Detroit itself...

[Raybay]

She looks lebanese or persian or something. I believe the name Naima is Arabic, for what it's worth. And I like her very very much.

[Navelgazer]

I predict at least one "child prostitute" comment by Janice regarding Naima this season (a la Cycle 2 Catie). As well as insensitive comments about her ethnicity. But yes...my early favorite. I'm hoping her personality doesn't screw me over, like YaYa's did.

Edited by Navelgazer, Feb 11, 2005 @ 11:30 PM.

[skagirl77]

Oh, she's lovely. The background shot kind of reminds me of Omahyra Mota in the eyes - I bet she can work both the soft femme looks (like the models linked up thread) or a harder look.

[Ember]

She's got a great look. She's also one of my favourites pre-show.

[nowrite2000]

Very modern. I like, which means she will turn out to be evil (e.g., Yaya).

[MelindaP]

She's got a striking face. Not sure about the body yet.

[Knots Landing]

She's amazing, IMO. From the pics, she can't pose and looks ackward, but if she learns fast, then she has a MAJOR shot.

[enjoyallison]

She looks like Frida.

She will kill in the beautyshots. Kill.

[mysticowl]

I wonder if her hairstyle on UPN's website is pre- or post-makeover. On one hand, it looks very post-makeover, in fact, isn't this the "modern mohawk" that Yoanna had? On the other, as far as I remember the profile pics on UPN were always pre-makeover. So I'm not sure what to make of this.

What I really want to know, is if it's pre-makeover, what will Tyra do with it?

Either way, I pin her as the judges' darling and possible winner.

[Poogie]

Since I've done nothing but snark on the other girls in their threads, I want to say I think this girl is lovely and is my pre-show favorite, along with beer weave girl.

5'9" and 130 lbs. though? I think they're padding the weight. I'm 5'9" and once upon a time I weighed 130 lbs., and I was nowhere near as skinny as Naima appears to be in her UPN photo. Come to think of it, I wasn't that skinny even when I was 117 lbs.

Edited by Poogie, Feb 13, 2005 @ 10:09 PM.

[ShaShaShawn]

Does anyone find her slightly androgynous? She looks exactly like my mom's friend's son.

[ghettofabman]

Androgyny will indeed make her America's Next Top Model for Spring 2005. Naima looks like she will just kill it on the runway!!

[whitechocolate]

Her face is undeniably gorgeous, it's funny that she chose Whale Rider as her favorite movie because I think she looks like an older taller version of Keisha Castle Hughes. She can be taught how to pose so I'm not too worried about that.

[vallegirl]

She can be taught how to pose so I'm not too worried about that.

I think Ann from last "cycle" disproved this theory. She had everything they wanted, beauty, height, athleticism/thinness and a great walk, but she would completely devolve into a neanderthal in front of the camera. She stayed in as long as she did based solely on her looks, but she was operatically bad at posing and never quite got it.

As for Naima, I'm just not seeing all her "beauty." She looks a little too creepily fetal to me. Not ugly just kinda like a half-baked human. (Isabelle Adjani always creeped me out with her fetal features for a point of reference.) She's like a prettier version of Lluvy.

Edited by vallegirl, Feb 16, 2005 @ 4:02 PM.

[enjoyallison]

She's like a prettier version of Lluvy.

She is only a prettier version of Lluvy in the sense that she's, um, a girl and happens to be prettier. The similarities end there.

I hope she doesn't go the way of Ann. Oh, that will be painful.

[gracie18]

I think she is very pretty, and will definitely rock the beauty shot, but it also looks like she could be the one that relies on the "fierce" make-up to get her "fierce" look.

So she's 5'9 and weighs 130lbs? Right. Where is all of that weight going? Do her feet weigh 20lbs each or something?

[gossipgirl]

Maybe muscle tone is responsible for her weighing 130 lbs ??