Jade Chantel Cole (born June 19, 1979) is an American
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...
and print model and former reality television personality. She first appeared on
Cycle 6 of ''
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to ...
''. She is the founder of Biracial Butterfly Productions, an agency that represents models with
biracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...
ethnicity.
In 2018, ''
Marie Claire
''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on w ...
'' named Cole as one of the best 24 contestants of all time on ''ANTM'', ranking her as number six, followed by ''Pop Culture'' naming her one of the "Hottest reality TV villains" in 2019.
Early life
Cole was born in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, and she is of mixed ethnicity: her father is African-American, and her mother is Dutch. Though her ambiguous ethnicity initially caused her annoyance when people questioned her about it, she learned to use it to her advantage in her modeling career.
Career
Before appearing on ''ANTM'', Cole was a Kindergarten teacher in Philadelphia.
In early March 2006, cycle 6 of ''America's Next Top Model'' aired on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
. Cole was one of the thirteen female contestants, eventually becoming the last eliminated in the competition. Joanie Dodds took runner-up and
Danielle Evans ended up winning the cycle. During her tenure on the show, Cole was described as "obnoxious, self-absorbed, and flamboyant"
and "arrogant... and one of ''ANTM''s greatest villains."
E! News
''E! News'', previously known as ''E! News Daily'' and ''E! News Live'', is the infotainment, entertainment news operation for the cable network E! in the United States. Its former on-air weekday newscast debuted on September 1, 1991, and prima ...
called Cole one of the "two biggest bitches in the history of the show." In response, Cole has stated that she felt ''ANTM'' was a "misrepresentation", an "inaccurate performance" and that she had been exploited. ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' included her in their list of favorite contestants and worst makeovers.
Cole stated that she had turned down
America's Next Top Model cycle 17, "The All Stars", citing contract issues. In an interview, Cole stated, "As much as I would have loved to be back on TV, I felt I possibly would be misrepresented if appearing on
eason Eason is a surname.
The name comes from Aythe where the first recorded spelling of the family name is that of Aythe Filius Thome which was dated circa 1630, in the "Baillie of Stratherne". Aythe ''filius'' Thome received a charter of the lands of F ...
17.
t's basicallysigning your rights and life hypothetically away...
Reality shows
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality.
e'reoften persuaded to act in specific scripted ways by off-screen 'story editors' or 'segment television producers,' with the portrayal of events and speech manipulated and contrived to create an illusion of reality through direction and post-production editing techniques."
Cole signed with a number of agencies after her appearance on ''ANTM'', including: Diva Models, based in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
; Dream Models, based in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
; Uber-Warning Models, based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
; VMH Models, based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
; and SMG Models, based in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
. She also signed a contract with
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...
.
Cole has partnered with Casa de Amparo, an organization that aims to treat and prevent
child abuse
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to ...
and
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...
.
Filmography
Television
Music videos
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Jade
1979 births
Living people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American women
African-American female models
African-American models
American people of Dutch descent
America's Next Top Model contestants
Female models from Pittsburgh