Childhood & Early Life
Jaslene was born May 29, 1986 to a Puerto Rican father and a Latina mother and she has two younger brothers and one younger sister. Jaslene has a very large extended family, including an aunt that is only one week older than her whom she refers to her as her ‘twin’.
She grew up in the Humboldt Park area of Chicago and at age 12, she studied dance at her grandfather's dance studio, including salsa, hip hop and merengue.
She delayed her quinceañera until she was 16 so as not to compete with her aunt's party and over 200 friends and family attended Jaslene's Sweet 16/quinceañera party.
As a child, Jaslene's entire family would gather at her grandmother's house every Sunday. Jaslene performed for 'Viva La Gente', a dance troupe for children that her grandfather formed in Chicago.
Jaslene attended ‘Notre Dame High School for Girls’ in Chicago, where she described herself as a ‘weirdo’, and has had a passion for modeling since age 14.
Jaslene was a fan of the show 'America's Next Top Model' since the first season aired when she was 16 years old and she informed her mother that she would one day compete on the show.
In 2002 at age 16, Jaslene started working for Avant Garde Models, inspired and mentored by the Chicago fashion designer Michelle Gomez.
In 2003, when she was a senior in high school, Jaslene began dating her first serious boyfriend but in 2005 the relationship began to turn violent when her boyfriend threatened suicide and committed other forms of abuse against Jaslene when she tried to break up with him.
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Career
Jaslene briefly worked as an online college admissions adviser before she began modeling full-time in 2006. In the same year, she was a contestant on 'America's Next Top Model' reality TV show but was eliminated before the final round.
In May 2007, Jaslene was crowned the winner of 'America's Next Top Model', becoming the first Latina to win the title.
In July 2007, she broke up with her long-time boyfriend, publicly revealing for the first time that she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
Jaslene began her career as a supermodel, appearing on the covers of ‘Faces’, ‘EH!’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘Seventeen’, ‘Latina’, ‘Elle’, ‘Vogue India’, ‘Scene’, ‘Time Out’, ‘Vanidades’, ‘Us Weekly’, ‘Hombre’, ‘New York Post’, ‘In Touch Weekly’, ‘Splendor’, and ‘JamRock’ magazines.
In 2008, Jaslene starred in the film 'Nothing Like The Holidays'.
In 2009, she starred in Magic Juan's video for the song 'Baby Come Back'. The same year, she was a contestant on season 6 of 'Project Runway'.
In 2010, Jaslene was a guest judge for the ‘Miss Malaysia World’ beauty pageant. Two years later in November she hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Jaslene continues to model on the catwalk for Ximena Valero, James de Colón, Ashley Paige, the Amaya swimwear line, Jose Duran, Indashio, Cesar Galindo, Farah Angsana, Custo Barcelona, Elda De La Rosa, Nora Del Busto, and Soledad Designs among other elite fashion brands.
She has done fashion shoots for ‘Celestino’ by Sergio Guadarrama, Cesar Galindo, CoverGirl, Garnier Nutrisse, 'Heart On My Sleeves' by Aubrey O'Day, Keds, Kett Cosmetics, Lot29, Marianne, Metrostyle, Pantene, Recession Denim, ShopBop and Southpole.
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She has also done multiple stints as a television host and presenter for ‘CoverGirl TV’ and has appeared on several talk shows, including 'Live with Regis and Kelly'.
Personal Life & Legacy
Although Jaslene has dated other people since her first, abusive relationship, she is currently single.
As a celebrity Latina, Jaslene continues to serve as a role model for her community and an inspiration to young women who have suffered from domestic violence.
Jaslene works with the ‘National Domestic Violence Hotline’ to help increase awareness about teen dating and violence.
Trivia
This famous model has been nicknamed the ‘Cha Cha Diva’.
As a young girl, this famous model practiced posing in front of the mirror and kept collages of supermodels on the walls of her bedroom.
This famous personality believes that every day is another opportunity that God has given her to become a better person.
