Where Are the Subjects of 'Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model' Now?
The Netflix docuseries unveils scandals and malpractices that happened on the set of the reality show, hosted by Tyra Banks.
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Netflix's new docuseries Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model has renewed the public's fascination with one of the most divisive reality hits of all time. Since 2020—a mere two years after the modeling competition went off the air—critics and former fans have re-examined ANTM and its influence on pop culture. The wave in critique has also prompted the show's alumni to speak out about their time on the competition, and the exploitative practices that were left off camera.
In Reality Check, several of the show's most notable contestants and judges reflect on ANTM and give new details on what happened behind-the-scenes. Beyond all the tea—from Miss J, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker's firing to Tyra Banks's remorse to the "We were all rooting for you!" moment—the doc also reveals the surprising turns that many of the key players' lives took after ANTM's cameras stopped rolling.
Below, read on for our breakdown of where some of America's Next Top Model's biggest stars are now, from the off-screen responses to Reality Check, to the next ANTM docuseries that's set to come out.
Where Are the Judges From 'America's Next Top Model' Now
Tyra Banks
Instagram: @tyrabanks
Position: Host, Judge, Creator, and Executive Producer
After ANTM was cancelled in 2018, Banks's biggest entertainment gigs have included starring in the Lifetime sequel Life Size 2, hosting Dancing With the Stars from 2020 to 2023, and guest appearances on shows like Insecure, I Love That For You, and Bel-Air.
Since 2023, Banks has lived in Sydney, Australia with her partner, Louis Bélanger-Martin, and her son, York Banks Asla. There, she founded the ice-cream company SMiZE and Dream, which went viral for its "hot ice cream."
At the end of Reality Check, Banks revealed that she's working on bringing back America's Next Top Model for Cycle 25.
Miss J. Alexander
Instagram: @miss_jalexander
Position: Runway Coach, Judge
After leaving ANTM in 2012, Miss J (who uses both he/his and she/her pronouns) made occasional guest appearances on other reality shows and continued to teach design at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
On Reality Check, Alexander opened up about his recovery journey after suffering a stroke in 2022. In an interview with Tudum, he described his condition as "Fine. Healing and dealing. I’m good at what I did—do and did—which is teaching models how to inky slink down the runway."
Jay Manuel
Instagram: @mrjaymanuel
Position: Creative Director, Judge
Two years after leaving ANTM, Manuel founded his own line, Jay Manuel Beauty, in partnership with his longtime friend Iman. He focused on the company after its founding, pulling back on his career as a red-carpet fashion correspondent. In 2020, he released The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown, a satirical novel inspired by his time on the reality series.
Speaking to Tudum, Manuel addressed whether he and Banks have reconnected since filming Reality Check. "We shot this a year ago. Do you think my phone rang? No. And I don’t think it’s going to," he said.
Nigel Barker
Instagram: @nigelbarker
Position: Photographer, Judge
After ANTM, Barker went on to work on other reality competition series, including the short-lived model competition The Face, the international spin-off Holland's Next Top Model, and the web series Top Photographer. He has also directed the documentary films A Sealed Fate? and Haiti: Hunger and Hope.
Janice Dickinson
Instagram: @janicedickinson
Position: Judge
Legendary supermodel Janice Dickinson doesn't appear in the Netflix docuseries, but her time on ANTM—and her harsh judging style—are highlighted in the first episode. In a Tudum interview, director Daniel Sivan confirms that Dickinson wasn't able to sit for an interview because she "was tied up on another documentary."
The upcoming E! docuseries, Dirty Rotten Scandals, is confirmed to include two back-to-back episodes on ANTM, along with other episodes on the scandals behind reality shows like The Dr. Phil Show and The Price Is Right. Per Variety, Dickinson is set to appear in the March 11 episodes, alongside Cycle 2 winner Yoanna House, Cycle 8 winner Jaslene González, and Cycle 17 winner Lisa D’Amato.
Where Are the Contestants of 'America's Next Top Model' Now
Ebony Haith
Instagram: @ebonyehaith
Season: Cycle 1
Known For: Being a proud lesbian on an early reality TV hit; her iconic reaction GIFs; fighting back against racist microaggressions about her hair, skin texture, and personality
23 years after ANTM's first season, the Harlem-born model describes herself as a writer, health coach, model, actress, and aerobic instructor in her Instagram bio. Speaking to Tudum, she also spoke about how her outlook has changed since her season aired. "It’s beautiful to be seen as an artist, then a woman, then a Black woman…I have matured and understand that my authentic self is more than enough," she said.
Shandi Sullivan
Instagram: @shandithecatlady
Season: Cycle 2, second runner-up
Known For: Her on-camera cheating scandal, which she alleges was actually a sexual assault
Over 20 years after her time on ANTM, Sullivan (who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns) is now a full-time cat sitter and a co-host on the horror film podcast "Urn Fulla Popcorn." In 2024, she took part in a photo shoot recreating her ANTM colosseum portrait for the image's 20th anniversary. She said at the time that the anniversary shoot was her first time modeling in 10 years.
YaYa DaCosta
Instagram: @yayadacosta
Season: Cycle 3 runner-up
Known For: Her iconic tarantula shoot; clashing with the judges
Though DaCosta didn't appear on Reality Check, the actress and doula surprised fans when she broke her silence on ANTM in a 2025 Instagram Reel, and revealed that she had "fully forgiven" Banks.
After her time on the series, DaCosta transitioned to acting and starred in series and films like 2006's Take the Lead, ABC's Ugly Betty, 2013's The Butler, 2015's Whitney, NBC's Chicago Med, and Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer.
Keenyah Hill
Instagram: @keenyah.hill
Season: Cycle 4 runner-up
Known For: Her ANTM storyline focusing on weight and eating habits; stopping a photo shoot because a male model was aggressively hitting on her
Hill now works as a pose coach and model mentor. She channeled her post-ANTM experience as a commercial model into Find Your Light, her business offering developmental courses, posing workshops, and portfolio photo shoots.
Speaking to Tudum, she said of her work: "Society is finally in a space to embrace body positivity. I’m just here to hold their hand on their path and help them shine."
Tiffany Richardson
Instagram: N/A
Season: Cycle 3 and Cycle 4 contestant
Known For: Being the impetus for the "I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you!" scene
After her elimination (which spurred one of the internet's most enduring memes), Richardson chose not to pursue modeling. In a 2017 BuzzFeed profile, Richardson revealed that she now works at a group home assisting people with mental disabilities while raising her son, Chaddrick, and daughter, Chaz, in Miami. Unfortunately, tragedy later struck the former model's family; in 2023, Chaddrick was fatally shot during an "alleged failed robbery," according to The Sun.
Though she didn't appear on Reality Check, Page Six reported Richardson shared a response to the docuseries on Instagram. (Richardson's account and the post have since been deleted.) Per Page Six, she called Banks a "lying ass bitch," writing, "You know how you treated me the whole time off and on camera, YOU WAS A BULLY!!! You treated me like s–t and said the nastiest things about me and my son."
Joanie Sprague
Instagram: @joaniesprague
Season: Cycle 6 contestant
Known For: Undergoing intense dental work during her makeover
Sprague has transitioned to a surprising field following her post-ANTM modeling career. She's now a full-time carpenter and content creator, focused on DIY and home improvement. The self-proclaimed "handyma'am" tells Tudum that she's following her "passion for getting more women into the trades."
In an Instagram post reflecting on the series, Sprague wrote, "Twenty years later, I choose to be grateful. I am still here, doing great things. I don't hold any grudges, even though I could."
Where Are the Winners of 'America's Next Top Model' Now?
Eva Marcille
Instagram: @evamarcille
Season: Cycle 3 winner
Known For: Braving her fears during the tarantula shoot; her moniker "Eva the Diva"
Marcille is mentioned in Reality Check as one of ANTM's most successful alums. While she hasn't commented on the docuseries, she's known as one of Banks's most loyal supporters among ANTM alumni.
Like DaCosta, Marcille pivoted to acting, having appeared on soap operas like The Young and the Restless and beloved Black TV shows including Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, and House of Payne. She was also a cast member on The Real Housewives of Atlanta from 2017 to 2020.
Danielle "Dani" Evans
Instagram: @danievans1
Season: Cycle 6 winner
Known For: Being forced to close her tooth gap so she wouldn't get eliminated
In Reality Check, Evabs opens up about her early days post-ANTM, living in a model's apartment with Chanel Iman and failing to book most jobs because she was labeled as a "reality star." Dani also alleges that 15 years after her season, Evans admitted that she knew Dani would face discrimination because of her time on the series. In 2013, Evans published the book The Skinny on Getting In: An Inside Peek Into the Fashion World for the Aspiring Model.
In 2017, Evans founded the hat brand Monrowe, which releases small-batch collections that "honor craftsmanship over excess." Per Tudum, after leaving the modeling industry, she "began writing a memoir, and describes being on a 'journey of awakening, both spiritually and emotionally.'"
Whitney Thompson
Instagram: @whitneyantm
Season: Cycle 10 winner
Known For: Being ANTM's first-ever plus-size model to win
Upon becoming ANTM's first-ever plus-size winner, Thompson discovered that her new agency didn't even have a plus-size division at the time. Still, she went on to model for companies including Forever 21, Saks Fifth Avenue, Torrid, and Converse, and became an ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association. Per Tudum, she retired after booking Italian Vogue because she wanted to "go out on top."
Nowadays, the former model (who now goes by Whitney Lee Thompson Forrester) runs Pink Pelican, an ice cream parlor and fudge shop in Panama City, Florida. She also has a blog where she writes about motherhood and traveling the world.
