Teenager with 'beauty inside and out' beats 20,000 hopefuls as new face of CoverGirl in Ellen DeGeneres' model contest

Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres has revealed the new face of CoverGirl as an 18-year-old who dedicates her spare time to helping others.

The TV personality launched a model contest to find an ambassador for the cosmetics giant in January, and today she crowned Alexis Harris from, San Antonio, Texas, as the winner for having 'beauty inside and out'.
The stunned teenager, who was sat in the live Ellen show audience, took to the stage to collect a cheque for $20,000 and later she tweeted that she was still 'at a loss for words!!!'

Life-changing: TV host Ellen DeGeneres launched a model contest to find an ambassador for CoverGirl in January, and today she crowned Alexis Harris from, San Antonio, Texas, as the winner

Miss Harris, who joins the ranks of Drew Barrymore, Taylor Swift and Ellen DeGeneres herself, was one of 20,000 girls vying to be the next CoverGirl.
Each entrant was asked to submit a short video detailing why they should win.

Asked why she makes a good role model, Miss Harris said: 'My selflessness,  independence, strength, the fact Ellen DeGeneres chose me!'
In her video submission the Texas University student explains that she grew up with a single mother and three brothers and she hasn't seen her father for years.

Dreams come true: Miss Harris, who said it was 'amazing' and 'unbelievable' to be the new face of CoverGiirl, will take part in a photo shoot with Miss DeGeneres next month

'I honestly don’t remember the last time I talked  to my father, It’s not necessarily a bad thing. To me that’s helped my family stay so close,' she says through tears.
'My mom is in the military  she’s very selfless in the sacrifices she made for her children,' she continues.
'She’s been such a positive inspiration to me... If I could give her anything it would definitely be financial stability.'
Last July she founded the SMILE project - standing for Students Making Impacts in Lives Everywhere.
Over the past nine months she has organized food, clothing and winter coat drives.

Big surprise: The stunned teen, who was sat in the live audience, went on stage to collect a cheque for $20,000

Loving nature: Miss Harris said that her mother has inspired her to succeed (left) and in her spare time she helps others less fortunate through her SMILE campaign, which she set up last June (right)

'I wrote into the Ellen Show to tell Ellen about how much she’s inspired me to step out there and start a campaign that will positively impact other people,' she explains.
Ms DeGeneres told her: 'You represent everything we were looking for. To be your age and to be more concerned about helping other people.
'That's exactly what we were looking for, beauty inside and out.'
Asked how it felt to be the next CoverGirl Miss Harris said: 'Amazing… it’s unbelievable. It means the world to me.'
She will take part an exclusive photo shoot with Ms DeGeneres, who became a CoverGirl in 2009, next month.