The Connector
The Connector

If you haven’t already heard, Tyra Banks announced on Twitter that Cycle 22 will be America’s Next Top Model’s last season. Granted the show had already started to run its course, becoming less about modeling and more about being gimmicky and over the top. But this show inspired me to want to pursue fashion photography after watching how early America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) photographer Nigel Barker worked with the models and created beautiful images. A few of the models went on to be quite successful such as Eva Marcille, Kim Stolz, Toccara Jones and Analeigh Tipton by booking shows or commercial gigs, hosting television shows or acting in movies and television shows.

Nevertheless, ANTM was filled with numerous gems that we all can quote just as well as Mean Girls lines. Here are the top 10 gems from over the years.

  1. Tyra taught the world how to smize.
  2. Tyra pretended to pass out to introduce the models’ acting challenge.
  3. Tyra featured the first transgender model, Isis, as one of the contestants.
  4. Cycle 5 contestant Lisa is one for the Top Model history books, with her crazy antics such as wearing a diaper and getting drunk and talking to bushes.
  5. The infamous words, “Be quiet Tiffany!”… I HAVE NEVER YELLED AT A GIRL LIKE THIS…” sparked after Cycle 4 contestant Tiffany shows no emotion after just being eliminated from the competition.

No one knows how to make a mundane task more glamorous than Tyra herself. After the cancellation of her talk show, Tyra and now ANTM, who can fill the void left by the queen of “smizing?” I have a feeling her time on the silver screen won’t be over just yet.