Kimberly Leeman

KIMBERLY LEEMAN
AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

KIMBERLY LEEMAN
By Jeremy Van Cise
Posted: November 2007

Beautiful, passionate, and humble are three words that perfectly describe America’s
Next Top Model contestant, Kimberly Leemans. Even though she was the second to be
eliminated, her fresh beauty and positive attitude earned her a spot among Top Model's
fan favorites. Kimberly took a moment with us to dish on what she’s been up to and
where this small town girl is headed.

Van Cise: When did you know you wanted to go

into modeling?

Leeman: I’ve been in front of the camera my whole life.

My dad loved taking pictures of me everywhere we

went, and I just loved and felt so comfortable in front of

the camera. I always thought modeling seemed like

such an exciting job, but I never wanted to call myself a

model growing up, because I always thought people

would be like, "you? A model?" So I never expressed it.

But then I started to watch Americas next top Model with

my friends and my mom and I would get so excited and

frustrated at the same time. I would tell myself, “I can do

that, I can totally do that!” So I went online, figured out

when the next auditions were, and

Voilà,

the rest is

history.

Van Cise: What was it like going from your small

town of Ocala to living in the top model house?

Leeman: It was a fantastic experience; the house was absolutely stunning, it was just
surreal! I know it was very shocking to a lot of the girls because most of them have
never traveled far before or experienced amazing things like this, but I’ve been
fortunate in my life to have been exposed to traveling and wonderful things, so I know a
lot of the girls were definitely astonished by this and I definitely appreciated it as well.

Van Cise: Who was the girl you got the closest to in the house?

Leeman: All the girls were really great! Really. My first friend in the house was Ambreal,
but I definitely got really close to Bianca. She’s so funny and goofy, just like me, and we
really clicked. (That’s a thing that I’m disappointed that the show didn’t portray, was how
much fun we had with each other and how well we got along, they just liked to focus on
the little spats that happened here and there) I still keep in touch with most of the girls
and have become closer to them since the show. They will definitely be apart of my life
for a long time.

Van Cise: Did you think that Heather got special treatment from the girls in the
house and more importantly from the judges?

Leeman: We didn’t understand that Heather had a disability when she came into the
house, and when we did, we all felt sympathetic to her and we didn’t understand how to
really accommodate her. So yes, some of the girls tended to baby her a bit at first and
take care of her, but later on in the competition I feel they just treated her more normal,
as they understood her capabilities. As for the judges, I do feel like they are keeping
her on longer for her story and message. Asperger’s Syndrome effects a lot of children
these days, that’s a huge audience to be heard by and that’s a huge support system for
Heather and the show, but I do find that she is struggling more than ever now and the
judges still keep her on.

Van Cise: Was there anyone that you didn't get along with in the house?

Leeman: No! I was really surprised because from watching previous seasons of the
show on TV, you always see the girls fighting and backstabbing. And we all just really
got along. Imagine; beautiful girls WITH personalities, you can’t go wrong.

Van Cise: What do you think lead the judges to eliminating you?

Leeman: That’s a great question, and I still don’t really know but I guess they thought
my pictures weren’t good enough, but it’s a reality show first. In my opinion, and I wasn’t
dramatic enough for TV. I knew I should have hit someone (j/k), but all the girls were
really shocked that I got eliminated when I did, there were a lot of tears.

Van Cise: Do you have any regrets coming out of the competition?

Leeman: No regrets at all. I did everything to the fullest and it’s not what they were
looking for, so what can a girl do?!

Van Cise: What have you been up to since the competition and where do you
see yourself going?

Leeman: Well after the competition, before it aired we kind of had to go back to a
normal life so I started working at the Humane Society of Ocala, Fl. Which I’m very
proud of (ADOPT A PET...SPAY/NEUTER...these babies really need everyone’s help)
and now I’m planning my move to New York in January to pursue modeling and acting.

Van Cise: Who do you think should

win?

Leeman: I'm already disappointed in some

of the eliminations, a few of those girls I

thought could have gone all the way, but

for the girls that are left, first off, let me say

that Bianca better go far! If she sent me

home for nothing, I'll be mad.

Lisa has enormous potential, she’s really a

stunning girl and she knows how to work

and move her body. Jenah has been taking

amazing pictures since the get-go, so she

is the biggest competition in the bunch

right now. It’s tough because all these girls

have made it this far for different reasons,

they are all amazing!

Van Cise: How has being on ANTM changed your life?

Leeman: I love the recognition of it all and it really gives me more of a voice to talk
about the things that I’m passionate about. (Humane Society, vegetarianism,
environmentalism...) The only reason I ever got on the show was because I wanted my
name out there, I was hoping that it would open doors for me and it’s still too early to
tell, but we’ll see.

For more information on Kimberly Leeman please visit her on Myspace.