Jael Strauss (born July 3, 1984) ranked 6th in cycle 8.
Participation in America's Next Top Model
Strauss began the competition already standing out, being punished and ordered to do push-ups at the boot camp and revealing she was half-black which stunned Tyra. She was the 11th contestant called as a finalist and landed in the bottom two at the first panel do to her fear of success. She then received one of the most memorable makeovers, spending eight hours having a brunette weave sown on her head only to have it removed when Mr Jay had doubts and go with short brown hair.
Often over-the-top she even got thrown into a pool by rapper 50 Cent at a party when she went out of control, playing the tough Detroit girl and tearing down his hometown. She later landed in the bottom two right before the contestants went to Australia but was kept for another week, becoming the first contestant to be elminated on Australian soil. During the competition, she won one CoverGirl of the Week title (Week 5).
After America's Next Top Model
After the show, Strauss quickly reverted to her platinum blond dye and was signed by Hitch Couture. She recently settled out of court after nude pictures of her when she was 16 surfaced on the internet. She was one of six girls (with Heather Kuzmich, Joanie Dodds, Bianca Golden, Camille McDonald and Toccara Jones) featured on both America's Next Top Model: Exposed and the Tyra Show's special installment called America's Next Top Model: Revealed were she discussed the hard time she had dealing with the death of one of her friends by overdose in the public eye but stated she was glad it opened many peoples eyes. She also revealed that she would be starting her own clothing line with Hitch Couture. She also appeared on Cycle 10 as a cheerleader, sporting a blond wig, alongside Joanie Dodds, The Babin Twins and Furonda Brasfield.