The Contestants
Ngozi Smith
Age 37
Park Forest, IL
Homemaker/US Army Veteran, Honorably Discharged
At 37, Ngozi is the oldest contestant in the competition. She considers herself a spiritual person. Her name means "God's Blessing". She grew up on the South Side of Chicago and served in the US Army before being honorably discharged. Ngozi enjoys creative writing, photography and cooking. She is a stay at home mom of three children. Her dream is to help her Nigerian father's village by building a state-of-the-art community school.
Ruth Cartagena
Age 24
Chicago, IL
Office Manager
Ruth is a lively Latina who credits her parents with giving her a great childhood and her dad specifically with building her self-esteem. He was the only one in her life that ever affirmed her beauty. However, with his death, Ruth has struggled enormously with self-esteem and finds no affirmation in the mirror. Still, she enjoys going out dancing, singing, and being the life of the party. Her goal on the show is to represent for the Latinas, to help make the world a FAT friendly place and to find a way through her grief to self-acceptance.
Jennifer Diluigi
Age 27
Northridge, CA
Medical Biller
Jennifer is a bubbly Italian and the mother of a 10-year-old son. While she enjoys sports, dancing, and singing, she rarely spends any time enjoying those things because she spends the bulk of her life living it for her son, whom she had as a teenager. Her career path was chosen so that she would be able to make enough money to raise her son. Any bonuses she gets at work, she saves up to buy her son Christmas gifts. Her free time belongs to him. For Jennifer, entering this competition is the first time in her life that she has ever dared to focus on her own dreams – the ones she once deferred as a pregnant teen of becoming a model someday. For her, the MFC journey is as much one to another country as it is within herself.
Marcia Tarver
Age 31
Dallas, TX
Front End Supervisor at Whole Foods Market
At 14, Marcia stood 5'10. Though she grew up in a conservative family several years ago, when she enrolled in fashion design school, Marcia gravitated to the grunge look and began getting tattoos and piercings all over her body. She enjoys arts and crafts, gardening, reading books and going to movies. Marcia believes that your appearance may change, but your heart stays the same.
Arena Turner
Age 23
Miami, FL
Middle School Teacher
Arena is the youngest contestant on the show. She is a middle school Science Teacher. In high school, she was voted "Class Clown." Arena is very close to her family, particularly her mother and grandmother. She's a self-proclaimed "diva" with weekly runs to the hair salon to maintain her 'do' and biweekly runs to the nail shop to keep her hands perfectly manicured as well! When she found out she made the show, she celebrated along with the other contestants by taking her first drink ever - a glass of champagne.
