1982

Born in the year 1982 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, Kesse Wallace coined the acronym DIVA in the attempt to describe herself in the most accurate way. DIVA wittingly stands for Devastating, Intriguing, Vivacious and just plain All That. She was raised under the Baptist way of life and was a college student who majored in accounting. Her favorite movie is The Color Purple, while her favorite television show is One on One. When she joined America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 1, Kesse was able to meet her favorite model, Tyra Banks, as Tyra was the host of and one of the judges on the show.

On the sixth week, the show flew Kesse and the other remaining Top Model finalists to Paris, where they were asked to pose with a male model wearing only lingerie. The challenge allowed a number of Parisian designers to view the models, and although all of them tried their best to produce spectacular pictures, the judges felt that Kesse did not possess enough desire to advance in the competition. Consequently, Kesse became the sixth finalist to be eliminated.

Since appearing on the show, Kesse has gone on to work under the management of Gilla Roos. Her runway projects include Yeohlee Teng Fall 2005/Spring 2006, and Francis Hendy. Kesse has also graced the pages of King Magazine and Complex Magazine and has appeared in a Church’s Chicken television commercial.

(Photos courtesy of UPN/CW)

North Little Rock, Arkansas

Kesse Wallace

Female

- She took up accounting in college.

- She cites 1985's The Color Purple as her favorite movie.

- When fellow ANTM contestant Adrianne Curry was married to Christopher Knight, she was chosen as a bridesmaid.