Fall TV Blog

Nicole Fox, of Louisville, Colo., is the newly crowned winner of America’s Next Top Model after beating out 13 other hopefuls in the show’s first competition for petite models only.

Fox, a self-described dork who is just 5′7″ (diminutive in runway standards), is thrilled with the honor but a little overwhelmed given that Top Model was her first real experience away from home.

“Coming into the competition, it was pretty obvious to everyone that I didn’t have the most self-confidence, the most presence of all the girls out there,” she says. “I never say the right things. I’ve never [ever] had a boyfriend.”

But time and again, the 18-year-old proved in stunning, high-fashion photos that her look and her instincts were spot-on, winning several of the challenges in the show’s 13th cycle.

“It seemed like the judges saw me being able to do [high] fashion as well as commercial modeling,” she said. “But beyond that, I suspect that the fact that I’m a more shy, quiet person helped me in that Tyra Banks and the judges knew that a lot of girls out there could relate to my personality.” (more…)

Leave it to Tyra Banks to hold a modeling competition for petite girls only!

The auditions for America’s Next Top Model Cycle 13, which welcome women 5′7″ and under, caused a stampede outside the Park Central Hotel in New York City back in March.

On Wednesday night, it came down to just two girls, who pitched, posed and pranced down a runway in Hawaii to please Tyra and her panel of fashion industry judges. It looked like a toss-up between Nicole, a quiet and awkard redhead from Colorado who took high-fashion photos, and Laura, a bubbly Kentucky girl with lots of personality and the face of a moneymaker.

After shooting an ad and commercial for CoverGirl, a cover for Seventeen and walking thrice in a runway show, the winner was Nicole, who, according to Tyra, is a star.

Jim DeYonker/The CW/Landov(2)

Known for her own sense of style, reality star Kim Kardashian will take the seat next to Tyra Banks on the America’s Next Top Model judges’ panel on tonight’s episode of the CW show (8 p.m. EST). “I’m just a big fan of the show and I adore Tyra,” Kardashian says of the gig. “I was so excited to give these girls advice and make a difference for their careers.” Kim took time out of her schedule of filming the next season of her own reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, to talk about the cast of model hopefuls, the challenge she judged and working with an idol of hers, Tyra Banks. –Jennifer Garcia

How did you get involved with Top Model?
They called and asked me to be a part of it and I totally look up to Tyra so I was so excited. I really admire her business sense and who she is. I get along with her really well. I was so honored when she asked me to do it. (more…)

What qualifies Lauren Conrad to be a guest judge on America’s Next Top Model alongside Tyra Banks? Well, she has designed her own clothing line and hired models for runway shows; she’s handled castings for photo shoots and fittings while working for Teen Vogue and People’s Revolution. She’s also a spokesperson for Avon’s mark line, a fashionable fixture at N.Y. Fashion Week and has been the subject of many a magazine spread.

Not to mention she’s a longtime fan of the CW’s model competition. “I don’t watch a lot of TV, but it is one of the few shows I watch. I’m such a fan of Tyra. So when they contacted me, I said yes,” Conrad tells PEOPLE. “I knew it would be a great experience. [Working with the Top Model judges including Miss J Alexander and Nigel Barker] was a treat.”

What wasn’t quite as easy, breezy or beautiful about the experience was the responsibility of taking one contestant out of the running and ending her runway dreams. “That’s the part I hated,” Conrad says. “It was so hard judging someone as every girl had qualities that should allow them to continue on. I am one of those people that wish they could all be winners.”

Conrad’s episode, which airs tonight on the CW (8 p.m. EST), features a classic ANTM challenge — the nude photo shoot. The contestants posed topless with jockeys and racehorses at the Santa Anita Park racetrack.

Not so standard is the season’s twist which required all of the participants less than 5′7″-tall. But Conrad approves of the change. “I love the twist. I think women of all sizes are beautiful, so it is refreshing to see models of different heights. It’s a bit more relatable to us short girls.” –Carrie Bell

Michael Desmond/The CW

America’s Next Top Model is getting a helping hand from some of Hollywood’s hottest fashionistas.

Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian will appear separately on new episodes during the show’s 13th cycle.

Conrad will join host Tyra Banks, photographer Nigel Barker and runway coach J. Alexander on the judges’ panel on Sept. 16, while Kardashian’s turn comes Oct. 21.

In fact, each episode of the cycle, which premieres Sept. 9 (8 p.m. EST) on the CW, will feature a member of the fashion community as a guest judge.

Top Model producers let former judge Paulina Porizkova go from the show in May, citing the “current state of the economy.”

Also missing this season: Super tall models. For the first time in the show’s history, all of the contestants in the cycle are 5′7″ and under.

Tell us: Will you be tuning in for the new cycle of America’s Next Top Model?

Frazer Harrison/Getty, INF

She posed her way to the finale and beat out Samantha to become the winner of America’s Next Top Model. Now, McKey Sullivan, the 19-year-old from Lake Forest, Ill., is ready for “a busy modeling career.” But first, the self-described “health nut” opens up to PEOPLE about why she’s a daddy’s girl, her cage-fighter boyfriend (who’s really a “big dork”) and her intense workout regimen. – Alyssa Shelasky

You’ve known you were the winner for a couple months now.
Yeah, I couldn’t tell anyone! I’d try to put it in the back of my brain, but then I’d get a goofy smile on my face and everyone would be like, “What’s that for?” But I didn’t tell anyone — not my family, not my boyfriend, no one.

You’re incredibly fit. What’s the secret?
I’m a health nut. I don’t like the texture of meat, so I don’t eat it. I do lots of high protein diets — body builder diets — but I don’t do it for bulk, I do [to stay toned]. I play tennis for college; I play water polo and I box. I train with my boyfriend as often as I can. I try to exercise five times a week. I’m always doing cardio, but I really like weight resistance. I could probably be a personal trainer but I can’t take that role over — that’s for my boyfriend because he’s certified. (more…)

Despite a somewhat awkward walk — and being called Lurch-like by Paulina — McKey’s strong, statuesque body won her the title of America’s Next Top Model, sending Sam home in second place and a disappointed Analeigh in third.

All three cycle 11 finalists gave a good fight, starting with a difficult Cover Girl shoot, during which the contestants had to recite tongue-twisting lines in Dutch and English by memory — as well as kiss a hot male model.

Each of the semi-finalists basically bombed, but no one was as disappointing as Analeigh, who usually sparkles in commercial challenges. This time, however, there was nothing easy or breezy about her unbearable brain-freeze. After an entire season of struggling with unremarkable facial features, Analeigh’s effortless, actress-like performances could have been her saving grace. But when she choked in front of the cameras, Tyra Banks and co. lost faith and sent the sugary-sweet Sacramento girl home. (more…)

Cheers to the four remaining Top Model contestants — McKey, Marjorie, Analeigh and Samantha — for working through the challenges on Wednesday’s episode without the bickering, backstabbing and cat fighting that usually comes at this point in the competition. In the end, Analeigh had the best picture because she experimented with different poses during the avant garde photo shoot. McKey was similarly dynamic. Unfocused, Samantha wasted the first 53 frames of the shoot before nailing her final seven shots and described her turn in front of the Dutch windmill as her worst. But it was Marjorie was sent home. After winning the commercial challenge with an awkward yet honest approach to acting, she reigned in her nerves so much that she stood lifeless before the judges. Here’s what led up to her elimination:

Tyra Mail: A model who knows how to sell makes the most sense.

The contestants headed to a studio where Paulina Porizkova gave them a lesson on how to incorporate their senses into selling things like dried herring (by smelling it), toilet paper (by cuddling it) and a cell phone (by listening to it).

Paulina’s take: McKey was “very model-like,” Marjorie’s emotions were “very accessible,” Analeigh was a “natural actress” and Samantha was “good at showing the happy side of the senses.” (more…)

The models of ANTM were swept off their feet on Wednesday’s episode as the girls faced the inevitable “go-see” challenge — part interview, part walk off, part scavenger hunt.

Since Amsterdam is a “water town,” the girls were to be transported by water taxi (complete with super-dreamy Dutch drivers). As always, they’re told they have until 5 p.m., ON THE DOT, to make it back from seeing their clients in order to prove to Tyra Banks that they are “Bankable.”

Shaky, fidgety, woe-is-me Marjorie was, naturally, frazzled from the start. Making matters worse, she had no sense of direction. While the girls were booking runways, she was running around in circles. She skipped her first designer because she was so hopelessly lost. This size zero clearly had zero street smarts.

Though she’s not considered a conventionally gorgeous girl, Analeigh’s soft, sweet personality was so enchanting it actually enhanced her beauty. The designers liked her, even though she tried a little too hard.

(more…)

The 6 remaining girls on Cycle 11 of America’s Top Model exuberantly arrive in Amsterdam, where they flaunt the most modelesque beauty and professionalism yet. In front of the cameras, that is. Behind the scenes is a different story. The social divide is more pronounced than ever as they experience the racy Red Light District, where anything goes. The girls have strong reactions the new and naughty scene, and split into two catty cliques.

Here’s a rundown:

Elina, Marjorie and Analeigh are progressively more … progressive. Their boho-European idiosyncrasies, demonstrated in group baths and super liberal opinions on just about everything, is getting to be a bit holier than thou. But it’s nice to see such sophisticated thinkers on a — ahem — reality show.

McKey, Samantha and Sheena are less articulate than Elina’a posse, considerably more conservative and potentially a little prudish. Some might call them simple-minded, but it seems they’re just earnest, honest, happy-go-lucky girls. Sheena can clearly keep up with Elina’a soliloquies, but it seems that with her nice, non-confrontational nature, it’s not even worth it. (more…)