What Happened To The America's Next Top Model Cycle 1 Cast 20 Years Later?

This feature references eating disorders. 

Twenty years ago, the inaugural cycle of world-renowned supermodel Tyra Banks' show "America's Next Top Model" aired, changing reality TV forever. The premise was simple: Young girls (and later on people of all genders) were chosen to compete in weekly challenges — including photoshoots, interviews, runways, and more — to see who could handle the pressure and win an ad campaign, photo spreads, a modeling contract, and the title of America's Next Top Model. Each week, some of the biggest people in the fashion biz critiqued and challenged the competitors, sending them home until there was only the top model remaining. In the premiere episode, Banks, in her typical girl-next-door style, explained why she started the show, saying, "I wanna make a top model in eight weeks ... [I] wanna show America how it happens."

As of this writing, "ANTM" has had 24 cycles and 334 individual contestants since it began in 2003 (some returned to compete and even win in later seasons), many of whom have gone on to new and exciting endeavors. Cycle 6 winner Dani Evans runs her own fashionable hat company Monrowe. Isis King of cycles 11 and 17 — the first trans woman to compete on the show — still models and is the star of Amazon Prime Video's rom-com "With Love." And cycle 21 fan favorite Winnie Harlow has broken barriers as the first model with vitiligo to walk the runway for Victoria's Secret. But what happened to the first 10 women to compete in "America's Next Top Model"?

Out of thousands of audition tapes, only eight girls out of the 20 semi-finalists were chosen to fly to New York to start their "America's Next Top Model" journey. To round it up, Tyra Banks brought in two new girls to New York, one of whom was Tessa Carlson, a hostess from Chicago. Carlson quickly connected with housemate Adrianne Curry since the two were the only Chicagoans in the house and the only smokers. The pair were criticized by the other girls for their habit. 

Criticism followed Carlson over to the judge's panel, too. After a photo shoot for JLo's swimsuit line, Carlson confessed to the panel that she didn't enjoy being so exposed in the bikini, "I was actually trying to cover up [my body]," she said. This led supermodel and judge Janice Dickinson to question why Carlson was trying to be a model if she wasn't comfortable showing her body. This landed the 19-year-old in the bottom two and she was sent home.

As of this writing, Carlson is no longer modeling, but she has spent plenty of time with a camera, capturing photos and memories with her family. The active Carlson clan takes trips, plays soccer, goes to spring concerts, and also takes Halloween very seriously. Oh, and the former "ANTM" contestant looks gorgeous as ever!

The second contestant to be ousted from the show was Katie Cleary, who told viewers from the get-go that she was more than just a pretty face. In fact, she had a deep passion for acting and working with animals. The bombshell was eliminated after a semi-unsatisfactory runway walk and a photo shoot that the judges thought was more sexy than fashionable. 

Regardless, following "America's Next Top Model," her career took off and her dreams came true. She's acted in TV and film, including minor roles in "How to Get Away with Murder," "Heckle U," "Iron Man 2," and "Rules of Engagement." She's also modeled for a variety of unscripted shows like "Deal or No Deal" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and was a participant in the tourist-spot-exploring series "Get Out." 

Her biggest Hollywood achievement was directing and producing the 2022 documentary "Why on Earth," which featured Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood as the film's narrator. "He takes us through the whole process. He's incredible. He's a huge animal lover," she told Fox News about Eastwood. The project is an extension of Cleary's animal wellness nonprofit Peace 4 Animals, which works to raise money for endangered species while raising awareness about the importance of co-existing with animals. Peace 4 Animals has its own news network "World Animal News," which started in 2012, the same year that Cleary founded the nonprofit, nine years after "ANTM."

Until the third episode, California girl Nicole Panattoni-Nastazio (née Nicole Panattoni) received high praise. However, she made a stink when Tyra Banks wanted to remove her $1,500 hair extensions during her makeover. At the Revlon makeup challenge, competitor Elyse Sewell won and invited her to share the reward, but the blonde beauty declined due to feeling ill (making her the only competitor to turn down a prize). Her fellow contestants believed she actually wanted to spend more time trying to reach her boyfriend, BMX rider Cory Nastazio. She was eliminated after Banks felt that she didn't want to compete anymore. 

As of 2023, the couple is married with two children, having gotten hitched in 2017 after 16 years together. She even appeared on the reality show, "The X Life," with her husband — the series explored the lives of extreme sports professionals and their romantic partners. That aside, she's also started her own spray tan service Bronzed Body SD and works in real estate.

In October 2022, Nicole spoke publicly about her experience on "America's Next Top Model," and it wasn't positive, to say the least. Speaking with Oliver TwiXt, the mother accused production of plotting to paint her as an unfaithful girlfriend during a mixer with single men. When she declined to participate in the scene, she claimed Banks was rude to her for the remainder of filming. Remaining hidden from the cameras, she credited her minimal airtime to her lack of storyline participation, stating, "I didn't wanna be the drama girl."

During the inaugural cycle, bald and beautiful model Ebony Haith's outspokenness and over-the-top reactions garnered positive and negative responses. She stood out during her cycle as the only lesbian who was never short of an opinion. She went head-to-head with castmate Giselle Samson and spoke honestly about her dislikes. But the judges and peers saw her behavior as aggressive and angry, which helped inspire Tyra's choice to make her the fourth model out. Haith walked out of the judging room without saying her goodbyes.

She came into the competition as a comedian, makeup artist, and aspiring model, and added published writer to her repertoire post "ANTM." Starting in 2021, Haith has been writing an autobiographical collection of essays titled, "In My Skin," for Now PR Magazine's Affirmation Series. In her articles, the self-proclaimed shapeshifter has opened up about her faith in God, her life as a foster child, and her struggles with her hair and skin. For Chapter Four of her collection, titled, "The Fork in the Road," she wrote, "I have always been thankful, especially when I look in the mirror and see God through my ancestors. I represent beauty today."

18 years later, Haith cleared the air with Samson in the latter model's Oliver TwiXt interview. Elaborating on her frustrations, Haith explained she was trying to defend Samson, "I kept trying to tell everybody ... She's 18. What do you expect? She's behaving the way she should." Thankfully, the two exchanged some mutual compassion for each of their respective perspectives. Yay for closure!

The youngest model of the bunch was Giselle Samson, an 18-year-old Latina dancer that was brought onto the show to even out the eight finalists to ten. Her immaturity manifested in fishing for compliments, cockiness during challenges, and arguments with her housemates. She was eliminated over judge-favorite Elyse Sewell and came in fifth. 

Although she left during the publicity-training episode, Samson's public relations have been blossoming ever since. She branched out into acting and starred in the short film "Black?" in 2018. Additionally, the star found success on the stage, having enjoyed several seasons as a performer with The New Short Play Festival in New York, among other productions. She also stepped beyond the world of performance and opened a charitable jewelry and clothing company called Kiss The World. In 2021, she even celebrated finally getting the brand trademarked!

In her final "America's Next Top Model" episode, Samson confessed she dreamed of meeting Michael Jackson. Well, that dream came true. After "ANTM," Samson's lifelong passion for dance landed her work at Disneyland as well as a life-changing opportunity. According to an Instagram post, it was her racy photoshoot for Stuff Magazine that allegedly grabbed Jackson's attention. During her interview with Oliver TwiXt, Samson claimed that she was invited to Neverland Ranch where she was offered the opportunity to star in a music video sequel to "Thriller," called "Threatened." Alas, while "Threatened" appears as a track on Jackson's troubled final album, "Invincible" from 2001 it never received a music video.

Kesse Wallace introduced herself in her audition tape as a True Diva, proclaiming, "I'm devastating, intriguing, vivacious, and just all that!" Despite declaring sassy energy, Wallace admittedly came off as shy and quiet. Still, her remarkable resemblance to Tyra Banks was loud enough to get the other competitors concerned that she would win because of their similarities. 

During the show's first challenge in Paris involving a lingerie photoshoot with a male model, the photographer believed her to be too timid and lacking in confidence. When the contestants were asked to attend Go-Sees, Wallace sadly only made it to three out of the four since she lost track of time shopping. Her elimination was the first time that the judges and the rest of the contestants all cried. 

As of this writing, Wallace seems to have left the public eye entirely. She did some print work for King Magazine in 2004 and walked the runway for designers like Yeohlee Teng, Francis Hendy, and Renne Larc between 2005 and 2007. But for the most part, the star has kept a low profile ever since. Hopefully, she's doing fabulously and staying a True Diva.

One of the most memorable cast members from "America's Next Top Model" has to be Robbyne (previously Robin) Manning. The Tennessean pageant queen was the oldest at 26 and was considered the first plus-size model. Manning was also the leader of the trio of Christian models in the home with her outspoken conservative beliefs. She openly criticized many of her competitor's lifestyles and had no problem being combative. Infamously, she refused to be nude for a photo shoot and told Jay Manuel, "If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything." She was subsequently eliminated, but not forgotten. Indeed, her fight with Haith and the girls is often referenced by fans and critics alike as a standout moment.

Manning went on to do some print work for Grace Magazine and O, the Oprah Magazine and she also played Frieda in the 2006 horror flick, "Holla." However, she's mostly remained low-key since the show. In 2022, a TikTok compilation video of the judges fat-shaming Manning went viral and inspired an online deep dive into the show's penchant for body-shaming contestants. Responding to the controversy on TikTok, Janice Dickinson, who repeatedly suggested that the then-size six Manning was too full-figured to be a model, stated that she didn't regret her comments, saying, "It was acting, and that's that." Manning mostly posts her model niece on her Instagram. However, in 2022 she reposted the compilation with a promise to comment on it. As of this writing, fans are still eagerly awaiting her thoughts!

Elyse Sewell was a bit of a polarizing contestant. She came into the competition as an intellectual with dreams of attending medical school if modeling didn't work out. In some of her confessionals, she talked poorly in profane rants about her fellow competitors, calling Giselle Samson worthless, Katie Cleary insincere, and Robbyne Manning foolish. At one point, she even told the world she was over it all, stating, "I don't wanna be a model ... Eliminate me." But despite these frustrations, Sewell was a judge's favorite, with her catwalk and photoshoots all praised. She coyly confessed her investment in winning "ANTM" but her passion for fashion was questioned. Her castmates were also concerned about Sewell's health and speculated she had an eating disorder, which the Pre-Med student vehemently denied.

Although she'd criticized the industry, after placing third in the competition Sewell's career skyrocketed in East Asia. She posed for the cover of Hong Kong's Harper's Bazaar, appeared in advertisements, and walked for haute couture fashion shows. Sewell also documented her modeling career on her YouTube channel and blog, but after 2009 she has been inactive, as of this writing. In a Fashion TV interview, she did say we wouldn't hear from her in a while because she hoped to be married. Online sleuths managed to track down evidence that as of 2015, Sewell had appeared to have gotten married and is now known as Elyse Thompson. She also seemed to be working as a geospatial analyst. 

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Shannon Stewart's storyline revolved around her being an all-American bible-loving Southen girl with a bubbly disposition and a big smile. She confessed to saving herself for marriage and had a crush on a model named Brad Pinkert, whose magazine spread she brought with her to the show. In classic reality TV fashion, she ended up having to model with him for an underwear spread — welp! Like Manning, she refused to participate in the nude shoot, but she made it all the way to the top two despite that — probably because she put up one heckuva fight. In 2011, Stewart competed in cycle 17 of "America's Next Top Model: All-Stars" where she placed 6th after not posing for a lingerie shoot. 

Since then, the small-town Ohio native has branched out from the world of modeling. Stewart has traveled the country for inspirational speaking engagements where she shares her religious faith and encourages others to do the same. Her website's blog is regularly updated with spiritual passages about forgiveness and wisdom, and she pairs some of these words on Instagram with modelesque photos that prove she's still got it. In 2023, she was also featured on the cover of North Carolina magazine, Triangle Style.

While she didn't find a husband in Pinkert, she did find one in author and fellow motivational speaker, Mike Lee, who has a matching website to his wife's, complete with heartening blogs. The two married in 2022.

The first-ever winner of "America's Next Top Model" was Adrianne Curry-Rhode (previously Adrianne Curry), the rock n' roll Chicagoan who was determined to win. During the cycle, she expressed no pain during her makeover, pushed her exercising limits, and even rallied through a debilitating case of food poisoning. Ultimately, it paid off, and the tomboy from the boondocks took the title home. One of the prizes promised by "Top Model" was a contract with Revlon. But in a since-deleted blog post, Curry-Rhode claimed this wasn't the case. "[Revlon] informed me they never planned on using the winner," she wrote. "... They hired me for $15k to model makeup in a room." Additionally, the model also alleged that she never saw a dime of that $15k (via Life & Style).

But the beautiful brunette persisted. She modeled and also went into other corners of the reality TV world, most famously "The Surreal Life" where she met and later dated "Brady Bunch" star Christopher Knight, which landed them their spin-off show, "My Fairy Brady." The two separated on their fifth anniversary in 2011, and were divorced two years later. She went on to find love with voice actor Matthew Rhode. On Instagram in September 2022 they celebrated four years of marriage together. 

She has since retired from the fashion and TV industry — but not from speaking her mind. In 2023, she was accused of body shaming actor Melanie Lynskey after Curry-Rhode criticized her non-muscular physique in "The Last of Us." The model promptly deleted her Twitter account during the backlash.