TOUGH-as-nails Danielle Evans took the title last night on the latest edition of “America’s Next Top Model.”

Throughout the season Evans, 20, was a resolute trouper despite several setbacks that might have gotten other contestants eliminated, including a fall that landed her on crutches, and a bout with dehydration that landed her in the hospital.

On the show, the judges – including host Tyra Banks – continually praised Evans’ pictures. Among her most striking photos was one in which she delicately perched on the back of an elephant after being rushed to a local hospital for dehydration.

Earlier, Evans sprained a toe during a walking challenge featuring platform heels, and ended up on crutches – but she showed up before the judges anyway.

Famously, Evans was given a chance to have the gap in her front teeth filled by a dentist, an imperfection she was told might work against her in the cut-throat modeling industry. She at first refused, explaining that the “gap was part of who she was.” But soon afterwards she gave in and had the gap made smaller.

“It’s been a part of me all my life, and now it’s not there anymore,” she said. “But I’m going to keep a smile on my face and keep going.”

Evans, who worked as a babysitter before appearing on “Top Model,” was giddy after learning she had won the grueling fashionista feud, after a surreal, penultimate runway challenge that unfolded in Thailand among ancient temples.

With the win, the Little Rock, Ark., native snagged an opportunity to be managed by Ford modeling agency, a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant Covergirl and a fashion spread in an upcoming issue of Elle magazine.