Elyse Sewell

Early life Sewell was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to a father of British descent and a Mexican mother. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of New Mexico. She also worked as a research assistant in an evolutionary biology lab.

Career America's Next Top Model Sewell's start in modeling came with her appearance on the first cycle of America's Next Top Model. She was known on the show as the "edgy pre-med student". She was the last eliminated, losing to winner Adrianne Curry and first runner-up Shannon Stewart.

In 2005, one of her "confessional" clips from the show, in which she expressed a profanity-laden rant against the people on the show, earned her 16th place on E!'s Most Outrageous TV Moments. She attributes this outburst to the unusual requirement on the show to voice one's private thoughts and to soliloquize in a "confessional booth".

While on the show, she said that she would be going to medical school if she did not win the competition.

After America's Next Top Model After the competition, Sewell pursued a modeling career in East Asia, working mainly in Hong Kong. Sewell has appeared in print advertisements for Chanel and Chow Sang Sang Jewelry, and appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Hong Kong and in editorials for Hong Kong Esquire and Cosmopolitan.

In 2004, Sewell started a LiveJournal blog about her experiences of modeling overseas. In 2006, she published "Beauty and The Biz: The International Adventures of America's Third-to-Next Top Model" in Hong Kong, based in part on the blog. She appeared at multiple book signings across Hong Kong. Her other writing credits include a satirical piece for Bust Magazine on how to be a reality TV star, as well as posts for the website Lemondrop.