KAYLENE NEEDS YOUR VOTES

Out of more than one million entries, nine-year-old Kaylene Hernandez of Ridgewood was selected as a finalist to possibly become the next face of GapKids.
“I just can’t believe that I got picked and I made it this far,” said an excited Kaylene, who will turn 10 on December 14.
It all started when her parents, Yvette Hernandez and Ruben Maldonado, heard about the GapKids Model Search and submitted their daughter’s picture wearing her favorite denim look on Gap’s web site. Kaylene was then selected by a panel of judges, from a pool of more than one million entrants, as one of the 20 finalists – 10 babies and 10 kids.
“With so many ‘good jeans’ to choose from, it was extremely difficult to select only 20 finalists to represent our brand,” said Mark Breitbard, executive vice president of babyGap and GapKids.
But Kaylene, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, was chosen because she is natural star, according to her parents. Kaylene loves dancing to Hip-Hop, Salsa or anything by Justin Bieber. She said she wants to be a dancer or an actress on a show like “Hannah Montana” on the Disney Channel.
“We never put her in modeling school or any of that,” said Kaylene’s father, Ruben Maldonado, a 32-year-old technician for Pitney Bowes. “Anything she has learned up to now has been on TV.”
In November, Kaylene and the other finalists got a preview of life in the spotlight when Gap flew them first-class to San Francisco to participate in a professional photo shoot with world-renowned child photographer Stefano Azario.
“I am really excited for her,” Maldonado said. “She needs to enjoy the moment.”
America will have until December 20 to decide which four children – one girl and one boy for babyGap and one girl and one boy for GapKids – will be featured in store windows nationwide and receive a $1,000 Gap Gift Card. Voters can cast their votes once a day by logging on to gap.com/castingcall or by downloading the free Gap Casting Call iPhone app.
To win, Kaylene will need some help. She is competing against four other girls from Columbus, Ohio; Skillman, New Jersey; Contra Costa, California and Kenmore, Washington. Casting Call winners will be revealed in mid-January 2011.
Kaylene, who attends P.S. 68 in Ridgewood, said she has the support of her entire school. Her school principal and friends are spreading the word to help her get the votes she needs to win. But it all comes at a small price.
“My friends say when I become famous, I better take them with me,” Kaylene said.