Before she won the coveted title on the television series Australia’s Next Top Model, Cox was a typical Eltham teenager living at home with her parents and her two siblings, playing sport and preparing for year 12.

Having watched the reality show religiously, Cox decided to audition this year. ‘‘Mum heard about it and said I should give it a go,’’ she says.

Despite being approached to model when she was younger, Cox had never seriously entertained the idea. ‘‘It’s a bit vain to say I want to be a model,’’ she says.

When she was accepted to join the show, Cox though she would be coming home after a few days. To her surprise, the Eltham College student wound up missing more than three months of year 12, and juggling her VCE exams with the show’s finale.

Fortunately, Cox says the school supported her through her year 12 exams. Teachers and students even put up posters encouraging people to vote for her, and rallied to support her in the finale.

Since winning the contest – and with it, a modelling contract and a trip to New York – Cox has been thrust into the spotlight.

While her school friends were off at Surfer’s Paradise for schoolies week, Cox could only take a few days off.

She has moved to Sydney, where she is living in a shared flat and working non-stop. ‘‘Since the finale finished, I’ve been thrown into it and it is a huge change of scenery,’’ she says. ‘‘I have to look after myself now. I have to cook dinner for myself. I’m so used to Mum doing everything for me.’’

Cox is also adjusting to her newfound fame, and the attention of tabloids and teenage girls. “It still doesn’t feel like I won. I walk down the street and people stare at me, and I think they are giving me evil looks, and then I realise they probably recognise me,’’ she says.

‘‘People run up to me in Woolworths and ask for an autograph, and I’m like: ‘Really?’ It is still really surreal.’’