Michelle Babin is an aspiring model from Anaheim, California. She and her twin sister,
Amanda , both became finalists on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7. Michelle is an openly gay individual, and admits to having been a tomboy when she was in high school. Although modeling is something that Michelle is greatly interested in, her real passion lies in playing basketball.
As a Finalist, Michelle was able to make it all the way to the Top 5 along with her twin sister, Amanda,
Eugena Washington ,
Melrose Bickerstaff and
CariDee English . She got to spend her last week on the show in Barcelona, Spain, where the pre-photo shoot challenge was to attend as many go-see auditions as possible. The photo shoot required the remaining girls to pose at a bull-fighting arena for renowned photographer Nigel Barker. Although Michelle's photographs were among the better ones, the judges were dismayed when she said she had the least potential out of the five remaining girls. The judges were also concerned with how Michelle seemed to be covering up for her sister's mistakes and weaknesses. Michelle and Amanda were placed at the bottom two, but it was Michelle's lack of interest and commitment that drove the judges to eliminate her from the show.
After appearing on the show, Michelle faced a lot of scrutiny regarding her sexuality, as she unintentionally came out on the show. Currently, she is a student at Cypress College, where she is a member of the women's basketball team. Although her twin sister did not know about her sexuality until they appeared on the show, Michelle says that everything is well with Amanda, and that coming out did not change her relationship with their family. One of her favorite photo shoots was when she got to portray both Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi, who is Ellen's real-life partner.