America's Next Top Model season 1 explained

Season Number:	1
Bgcolour:	4B5246
Num Episodes:	9
Episode List:	List of America's Next Top Model episodes
Network:	UPN
Module1:	Judges: Tyra Banks Janice Dickinson Kimora Lee Simmons Beau Quillian Num Contestants: 10 Winner: Adrianne Curry

America's Next Top Model, cycle 1 was the first cycle of America's Next Top Model. It originally aired on UPN from May to July 2003, and was hosted by Tyra Banks, who additionally served as its executive producer and presenter. The judging panel consisted of Banks, Janice Dickinson, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Beau Quillian. The cycle's catchphrase was "One girl has what it takes."^{[1] [2] [3]}

This was the only season to feature a cast of only ten contestants. All later cycles have featured at least twelve contestants. The international destination for the cycle was Paris, France.^[4]

The winner of the competition was 20-year-old Adrianne Curry from Joliet, Illinois with Shannon Stewart placing as runner up. Her prizes were a modeling contract with Wilhelmina Models, a photo spread in Marie Claire magazine, and a contract with Revlon cosmetics.^[5]

Contestants

(Ages stated are at start of contest)

Contestant	Age	Height	Hometown	Outcome	Place
Tessa Carlson^[6]	19		Chicago, Illinois	Episode 1	10
Katie Cleary^[7]	21		Glenview, Illinois	Episode 2	9
Nicole Panattoni^[8]	22		Murrieta, California	Episode 3	8
Ebony Haith^[9]	24		Harlem, New York	Episode 4	7
Giselle Samson^[10]	18		Corona, California	Episode 5	6
Kesse Wallace^[11]	21		North Little Rock, Arkansas	Episode 6	5
Robin Manning^[12]	27		Memphis, Tennessee	Episode 7	4
Elyse Sewell^[13]	20		Albuquerque, New Mexico	Episode 9	3
Shannon Stewart ^[14]	18		Franklin, Ohio		2
Adrianne Curry^[15]	20		Joliet, Illinois		1

Episodes

Summaries

Call-out order

Order	Episodes
	1		2	3	4	5	6	7	9
1	Nicole	Ebony	Shannon	Shannon	Kesse	Adrianne	Elyse	Elyse	Shannon	Adrianne
2	Robin	Elyse	Nicole	Kesse	Elyse	Kesse	Shannon	Adrianne	Adrianne	Shannon
3	Kesse	Kesse	Giselle	Elyse	Adrianne	Shannon	Robin	Shannon	Elyse
4	Elyse	Adrianne	Robin	Giselle	Robin	Robin	Adrianne	Robin
5	Katie	Katie	Adrianne	Adrianne	Shannon	Elyse	Kesse
6	Ebony	Nicole	Ebony	Robin	Giselle	Giselle
7	Adrianne	Giselle	Elyse	Ebony	Ebony
8	Shannon	Robin	Kesse	Nicole
9	Giselle Tessa	Shannon	Katie
10		Tessa

The contestant was not included in the casting call-out order but was additionally added to the cast

The contestant was eliminated

The contestant won the competition

Average call-out order

Casting call-out order and final two are not included.

Rank by average	Place	Model	Call-out total	Number of call-outs	Call-out average
1	3	Elyse	24	8	3.00
2	2	Shannon	25		3.12
3	1	Adrianne	26		3.25
4	5	Kesse	21	6	3.50
5	4	Robin	33	7	4.71
6	6	Giselle	26	5	5.20
7	7	Ebony	21	4	5.25
8	8	Nicole	16	3	5.33
9	9	Katie	14	2	7.00
10	10	Tessa	10	1	10.00

Bottom two

Episode	Contestants			Eliminated
1	Shannon	&	Tessa	Tessa
2	Katie	&	Kesse	Katie
3	Ebony	&	Nicole	Nicole
4	Ebony	&	Giselle	Ebony
5	Elyse	&	Giselle	Giselle
6	Adrianne	&	Kesse	Kesse
7	Robin	&	Shannon	Robin
9	Adrianne	&	Elyse	Elyse
	Adrianne	&	Shannon	Shannon

The contestant was eliminated after her first time in the bottom two

The contestant was eliminated after her second time in the bottom two

The contestant was eliminated in the final judging and placed as the runner-up

Photo shoot guide

• Episode 1 photo shoot: Swimwear on a rooftop
• Episode 2 photo shoot: Swimwear for Stuff magazine
• Episode 3 photo shoot: Beauty shots with snakes
• Episode 4 commercial: Fresh Look contact lenses
• Episode 5 photo shoot: Reebok ad with Clinton Portis
• Episode 6 photo shoot: Wonder Bra overlooking the Eiffel Tower
• Episode 7 photo shoots: Nude campaign for Merit Diamond

Makeovers

• Nicole - Extensions trimmed and straightened
• Ebony - Tuft shaved off
• Giselle - Layered with red highlights
• Kesse - Tyra Banks inspired long honey blonde extensions
• Robin - Light brown extensions
• Elyse - Pixie cut with brown highlights
• Shannon - Long blonde extensions
• Adrianne - Long dark brown weave with bangs

Critical reception

Cycle 1 received positive retrospective reviews from critics. Despite its low budget, E. Alex Jung of Vulture commented how this worked to the show's advantage, praising how Tyra “wanted to reflect the reality of life as a working model” and acknowledging that “there was something about the low production value that reflected that simple truth.” He also praised it in comparison to other seasons of America's Next Top Model, commentening how “ANTM’s first season felt like a glimpse into how fashion actually worked” whereas later seasons “became campier, more ludicrous, and vaguely surreal.” Jung also states that Cycle 1 “was the only season where the contestants didn’t readily buy into the project” and commended the season for respecting their decisions, such as when Shannon and Robin refused to pose nude.^[16]

Margaret Lyons of Vulture also praised the season, describing it as “impeachable” and “one of the best seasons, debut or otherwise, that any reality show has ever had.” She argued that “ANTM helped usher in the era of profession-based reality contest shows” but viewed it more positively compared to the rest of America's Next Top Models seasons, commenting how “nothing has ever quite lived up to the perfection of season one” and how “the grossness of Tyra’s constant idiotic catchphrases, and the repetitiveness of the challenges (have) eventually eroded my passion for the series.”^[17]

Post–Top Model careers

• Tessa Carlson modeled for Noah Kalina and Joey Quintero.
• Katie Cleary has worked with Deal or No Deal and has done print modeling. She has been an on-camera host for TV Guide Channel, E! News, and HDTV's Get Out. Her acting credits include How to Get Away with Murder, Chuck, The Break-Up, The Lake House, and Iron Man 2.^[18]
• Nicole Panattoni modeled for various companies. She is married to BMX rider Cory Nastazio.
• Ebony Haith was signed with Downtown Model Management.
• Giselle Samson now works as a hostess for Carnival Cruise.^[19]
• Robin Manning is pursuing an acting career and has been in two movies, and has done church-related print work.
• Elyse Sewell signed with multiple agencies in Asia and later graced the cover of Harper's Bazaar Hong Kong.
• Shannon Stewart has done print work for Bakers Shoes, Dillards and Speedo Aquatic Fitness Line. She has been signed with Ford Models and Elite Model Management. She participated in the America's Next Top Model All Stars cycle alongside other former contestants,^[20] finishing in sixth place.
• Adrianne Curry although not receiving her contracts Revlon and Wilhelmina,^[21] she has still modelled for several magazines, including Life & Style Weekly, Us Weekly, Star, OK!, Stuff, People, Maxim, made the Maxim Hot 100 list in 2005, Max (Spanish), Marie Claire and Spanish Marie Claire. She shot campaigns for Von Dutch, Von Dutch Watches, Salon City, Macy's, Famous Stars and Straps, Lucky, Ed Hardy, Kinis Bikinis, Beverly Hills Choppers and Merit Diamonds. She has walked for Jaime Pressly and Pamela Anderson. Curry was signed with Wilhelmina Models and Avenue Modeller,^[22] and is no longer a model. She was married to actor Christopher Knight from 2006 to 2012.

Controversies

After winning Cycle 1, Adrianne Curry was meant to receive a contract with Revlon and Wilhelmina Models, but she never received it. America's Next Top Model and Tyra Banks ignored her when she contacted them about the issue,^[21] and Curry was subsequently erased from the show.^[23] Although she appeared on Cycle 2, and was briefly mentioned in Cycle 20 as part of a challenge, she wasn’t featured in the opening credits for Cycles 7, 8 or 9 alongside the other previous winners of America's Next Top Model, and a photo of her didn’t appear in the contestants’ New York residence alongside the previous Top Model winners.

Notes and References

1. News: Would-be supermodel finds her competition shallow. November 7, 2012. Record-Journal. June 2, 2003.
2. News: LOOKING FOR A TOP MODEL. November 7, 2012. Long Beach Press-Telegram. June 3, 2003.
3. News: La Ferla. Ruth. Front Row. New York Times. May 20, 2003 . November 7, 2012.
4. News: Why America's Next Top Model Was Never Better Than Its First Cycle. 2015-12-04. Vulture. 2018-03-31. en.
5. News: Adrianne Curry Spills 'The Truth' About 'America's Next Top Model' and Hearing 'Crickets' From Tyra Banks. toofab. 2018-03-31. en.
6. Web site: UPN . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420131826/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_tessa.shtml . 2003-04-20 .
7. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420130649/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_katie.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
8. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420130832/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_nicole.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
9. Web site: UPN . August 1, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030801073629/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_ebony.shtml . August 1, 2003 .
10. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420084042/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_giselle.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
11. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420131044/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_kesse.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
12. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420131106/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_robin.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
13. Web site: UPN . June 21, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030621174704/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_elyse.shtml . June 21, 2003 .
14. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420131416/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_shannon.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
15. Web site: UPN . April 20, 2003 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20030420130415/http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model/bio_adrianne.shtml . April 20, 2003 .
16. Web site: Why America's Next Top Model Was Never Better Than Its First Cycle. Vulture. December 4, 2015 . en-us. 2019-12-10.
17. Web site: In Praise of Cycle 1 of America's Next Top Model. Vulture. July 2, 2013 . en-us. 2019-12-10.
18. Web site: ANTM Contestants: Where Are They Now?. Brittney. Stephens. September 17, 2021.
19. Web site: Balser . Erin . Top Model Round-Up: January 10 . Topmodelgossip.com . January 10, 2009 . August 9, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090409102510/http://www.topmodelgossip.com/top-model-round-up-january-10/ . April 9, 2009 .
20. 'Top Model All-Stars' cast reported: Lisa D'Amato, Isis King in; Jade out. Entertainment Weekly. Ward. Kate. May 12, 2011. May 15, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110624062532/http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/12/top-model-all-stars/. June 24, 2011 . live.
21. News: Adrianne Curry Spills 'The Truth' About 'America's Next Top Model' and Tyra Banks toofab.com. toofab. en. 2019-12-10.
22. Web site: Adrianne Curry – Fashion Model Models Photos, Editorials & Latest News The FMD. FashionModelDirectory.com. The FMD -. The FMD - FashionModelDirectory.com. July 14, 2016.
23. Web site: Adrianne Curry says Tyra Banks, Top Model "act like the first winner of their show never existed". 2007-05-11. reality blurred. en-US. 2019-12-10.