America's Next Top Model Winners

As a devoted fan of Tyra Banks' hit reality show "America's Next Top Model" I thought it would be fun to look back at all 10 of the winners so far. Where are they now? What have they accomplished? Have they really become Top Models? For most of them, I couldn't even list all of their accomplishments in a brief article, so I just picked a few highlights.

The winner of the very first cyle of ANTM was Adrianne Curry, a then 20 year old from Joliet, IL. At 5'10", she was very laid back on the show. Afterwards, however, she started some controversy by criticizing the show and Tyra Banks and saying that she never received what was promised to her. She apologized, but apparently Tyra holds grudges because she still refuses to acknowledge Adrianne as one of her winners.

Breaking ties with ANTM did not hinder her career, it seems. She has appeared in many magazines including Stuff, USWeekly, and Maxim (being named to their Top 100 Most Beautiful Women in the World). She also was paid $2,000,000 to appear nude in a Playboy spread. Adrianne photographed a return to Playboy in January of 2008 and was named part of its Top 25 sexiest women of the year.

Curry also appeared on several TV shows, starting with the VH1 reality show, "The Surreal Life" where she met and fell in love with former Brady Bunch star, Christopher Knight. They soon moved in together and VH1 started filming their life on a show called "My Fair Brady" which is now in its third season following their subsequent marriage in 2006. Curry has been extremely successful, appearing in runway shows, magazines, television, and even a few movies.

Yoanna House, the 23 year old winner of cycle 2, is from Jacksonville, FL. She was always interested in fashion and dreamed of being a model, but she was overweight. After losing 45 pounds, she auditioned for ANTM and went on to win! She has appeared in several fashion magazines and TV shows, including hosting "The Look For Less" beginning in 2005. She was named the "face" of the CW network when it was just starting up after a merger of two networks, appearing on commercials and promotional television spots.

She is currently signed with IMG modeling agency as well as a Danish Agency called 1st Opinion model Management. Airing in mid-July 2008 is the N networks new reality show "Queen Bees" where they try to turn mean girls into nice ones. The show is hosted by Yoanna, who has a very natural and likeable tv personality.

The shortest winner of ANTM at 5'61/2", Eva was also one of the most outspoken contestants. She was known on the show as Eva Pigford, but has since changed her name to Eva Marcille. One can only guess that Marcille is a bit more marketable in the modeling world than a name that contains the word "pig." She took this name change in 2006 when she left her managers (aka Tyra) and signed on with LA models. She has done many runway and print ads for companies like Applebottoms, DKNY, Samsung, and Mark Bauwer. She has also appeared on Smallville, Tyler Perry's House of Pain, and most recently, The Young and the Restless. Eva is from Los Angeles, California and was only 20 years old when she won the title of America's Next Top Model.

Naima is one of my favorite Top Model winners. Her funky and unique style has led her to a successful career post ANTM, starting with Ford Models and Covergirl, and moving on to sign with 301 Models in Miami and Basic Model Management in New York City. She has appeared in magazines such as Teen People, Us Weekly, and Star. In addition to numerous runway and TV appearances, Naima is currently the lead vocalist for a band called "Chewing Pics". They are unsigned so far, but you never know when Naima might become America's Next Rock Star.

At 19 years old, Nicole Linkletter was the youngest girl to ever win America's Next Top Model. She is from Grand Forks, ND, but has been busy all over the country since her big win. Her prize was a contract with Ford models, a spread in Elle magazine, and a contract with Covergirl cosmetics. In 2006 she signed on with Elite Models, and then Nous Model Management in LA. She has also gotten several international modeling contracts. She has been the spokesmodel for the "Crystal Rock" collection, a judge for the Miss USA 2006 pagaent, as well as making appearances in shows like the Tyra Banks show. One interesting thing to note about Nicole is that she has never gone back on ANTM to make a cameo appearance. I could not find any reasons why, but you gotta thing there's a reason for that. I kind of always thought Nigel had a secret thing for her, but I don't want to start any false rumors.

At 20 years old, Danielle from Little Rock, Arkansas won the top prize on cycle 6 of ANTM. She was awarded a contract with Ford Models, Covergirl, and a fashion spread in Elle magazine. The judges were afraid that her southern accent and small gap in her front teeth might hold her back, but Danielle has been making waves all over the modeling world. She now goes by "Dani" and has a contract with Click Model Management. She has walked the runway for Issue, Baby Phat, and more, as well as getting the job as spokesmodel for Akademik's clothing line. She is one of the few ANTM winners to get a card to walk the runway in NY Fashion Week. Another interesting thing to note about Dani is that she is also one of the few winners that has had her contract with Covergirl renewed. As you can tell from the picture here, she has also lost some weight and gotten even more "fierce" since her Cycle 6 win.

This 21 year old blonde beauty from Fargo, ND was the winner from Cycle 7 of ANTM. She was most well known during the Cycle for making an inappropriate comment to Nigel during a photo shoot. Apparently, the judges were able to overlook this and vote her as the winner anyway, hoping that her energy and crazy mouth would not let them down. This cycle was when the modeling contract switched from Ford Models to Elite Model Management, as well as the change from Elle to Seventeen magazine. The Covergirl contract was the only thing that remained the same as previous seasons. Since her win, CariDee has become the spokesperson for the National Psoriasis Foundation, which is close to her heart since she has suffered from Psoriasis for most of her life. She has modeled for INTouch magazine, Seventeen, Inked and has modeled for Wedding Style, JC Penney and more. Her TV appearances include the Tyra Banks Show and 1 episode of the show Gossip Girl. There is also talk of her becoming the MTV host and producer of a new show to air in April of 2009.

Jaslene made her first ANTM appearance on the semi-finals of Cycle 7. She did not make the cut that year, however, and Tyra urged her to come back and try again. The next Cycle she was back and ready to give it her all. She is from Chicago, IL (but born in Puerto Rico) and was just 20 when she was crowned the winner of Cycle 8. Her award for winning was a contract with Elite, Covergirl and Seventeen magazine. She also appeared in the New york Post, INTouch Weekly, Us Weekly and has made a cameo in the John Leguizamo film, Humboldt Park. Jaslene has modeled for tons of magazines, and like Dani, is one of the few ANTM winners to have her contract with Covergirl renewed. She also was given a prestigious showcard to walk in the 2008 NY Fahion Week. Although to me, her accent on those "My Life as a Covergirl" commercials was a bit annoying, she is really a beautiful woman and we will see a lot of her in the future.

With a fierce walk on the runway, Saleisha was the clear winner of Cycle 9. I was rooting for Heather, honestly, until she was kicked off, but by the end, you knew Saleisha would win. She was 21 when she won ANTM and is from Los Angeles, CA. Her award was the same as Jaslene, with the Elite, Covergirl, Seventeen contracts. Saleisha appeared on the Tyra Banks show and in magazines like INTouch weekly, OK! Magazine, Essence, and Paper Doll Magazine. She modeled for Metro Style in print and has walked for Tibi and Jose Duran in NYC Fashion Week. Being one of the more recent winners, Saleisha has already accomplished so much.

A blonde beauty with one of the most naturally pretty faces ever on Top Model, Whitney is the first Full Figured model to win ANTM. Previous Plus Size modes had barely made it into the top 10, so Whitney was really breaking new ground for the show with her continued success in her photo shoots. She is from Atlantic Beach, FL and was awarded a contract with Elite Model Management and Covergirl, as well as a spread in Seventeen Magazine. She has also appeared in INTouch Weekly and People Magazines, as well as TV shows like Live with Regis and Kelly, and E! News Entertainment. So far, her biggest ad campaigns have been with Metrostyle and Smile Stylist. She is the most recent winner and has not had a lot of time to prove herself yet in the field, but hopefully she will make a great name for herself. While I think she does come off a bit fake sometimes, and while I was a little bit disappointed that Katarzyna did not end up in the top 2, I am still rooting for Whitney because she takes amazing pictures and is really beautiful.

The 11th Cycle of America's Next Top Model is scheduled to begin on September 3rd and I can hardly wait! They have already released the pictures of the finalists on their website at cwtv.com, but as you know, the first episode is always semi-finals so be warned that it will provide a bit of a spoiler if you go to the website. The only thing I'll say here is that ANTM will be breaking new ground with the admission of its first ever transgender finalist. I will be posting recaps and news on Cycle 11 at my ANTM Recaps blog, http://antmrecaps.blogspot.com. Rumors are out that this will be Tyra's last season, so be sure to check it out!!