America's Next Top Model (season 1)


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

Contestants

ContestantAgeHeightHometownFinishPlace
Tessa Carlson19Chicago, IllinoisEpisode 110
Katie Cleary21Glenview, IllinoisEpisode 29
Nicole Panattoni22Murrieta, CaliforniaEpisode 38
Ebony Haith24Bronx, New YorkEpisode 47
Giselle Samson18Corona, CaliforniaEpisode 56
Kesse Wallace21North Little Rock, ArkansasEpisode 65
Robin Manning26Memphis, TennesseeEpisode 74
Elyse Sewell20Albuquerque, New MexicoEpisode 93
Shannon Stewart18Franklin, OhioEpisode 92
Adrianne Curry20Joliet, IllinoisEpisode 91

Episodes

Summaries

Call-out order

Average call-out order

Casting call-out order and final two are not included.
Rank by
average		PlaceModelCall-out
total		Number of
call-outs		Call-out
average
13Elyse2483.00
22Shannon2583.12
31Adrianne2683.25
45Kesse2163.50
54Robin3374.71
66Giselle2655.20
77Ebony2145.25
88Nicole1635.33
99Katie1427.00
1010Tessa10110.00

Bottom two

Photo shoot guide

Cycle 1 has received positive reviews from critics. Despite its low budget, E. Alex Jung commentened 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.
Margaret Lyons also praised the season, describing is 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 Model's 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 eventually eroded my passion for the series”.

Post–''Top Model'' careers

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, and Curry was subsequently erased from the show. 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.