Madison County native thrived on 'Top Model'

Kelly “Isabella” Falk couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Incredible,” said the 19-year Madison County native, walking down a Big Apple avenue on the March 4 season premiere of ‘America’s Next Top Model,’ a reality show with Tyra Banks on The CW Television Network.

“I’ve been living in a small-town my entire life. I am so excited to be in New York City, the fashion capital of the world. I can actually say to myself, I am a model.”

Chosen from among thousands of aspiring models, Falk made it into the top 13 on the two-hour premiere before getting cut in the final moments.

Banks, host and producer of the show, explained why.

“That beautiful girl next door with that beautiful spirit, but you got on that set and I don’t know what you were doing — you were lost,” said Banks of the photo shoot in Central Park. “You are such a sweet girl, but you need to go home and practice because you have potential. It should not end here.”

Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall with green eyes and blond hair, Falk shined on “America's Next Top Model,” though it was evident she was a bit out of her element. The 2007 graduate of Madison County High School received adequate screen time on the show, which also filmed in Las Vegas.

The producers focused on the fact that Falk has epilepsy, a reality about which she openly conversed.

“I know that it can affect me any time,” Falk said on Top Model. “But it’s something that I live with and it’s not who I am.”

She vowed at the end of the show to keep chasing her dream.

“Good-bye for now. You will be seeing me around,” said Falk, who works at Starbucks in Charlottesville and has her own place in Barboursville, Orange County.

Her dad, Aksel Falk, a beef farmer from Madison, said he was very proud of his daughter and that she was treated fairly on the show.

“She went a long way,” he said last week, adding that he felt his daughters' illness was handled well.

“It showed they shouldn’t be treated any differently just because they have a medical condition,” said Aksel Falk, mentioning another model on the show with a skin condition. “It was good to see they brought that out.”

Check out next week's Culpeper Star-Exponent for a follow-up on Kelly Falk.