The 15 most successful ANTM contestants and what they have been up to since their time on the show

The most successful ANTM contestants have consistently proven that America's Next Top Model was a launching pad, not a final destination. Winnie Harlow, Eva Marcille, Yaya DaCosta, Analeigh Tipton, and Nyle DiMarco are among the most successful models to emerge from the franchise. Leading this group is Winnie Harlow, whose post-show career in high fashion, brand endorsements, and entrepreneurship has made her the show's most recognisable global name.

Key takeaways

• Winnie Harlow is the most successful ANTM alumna by career reach, appearing in campaigns for Fendi, Marc Jacobs, and Victoria's Secret while building her own beauty brand, Cay Skin.
• Eva Marcille is the most decorated ANTM winner as an actress, earning two NAACP Image Award nominations for her role on The Young and the Restless.
• Yaya DaCosta starred as Whitney Houston in a 2015 Lifetime biopic, making her the runner-up with the highest-profile acting credit of any Cycle 3 contestant.
• Nyle DiMarco made history as the first deaf winner in ANTM's 22-cycle run, later winning Dancing with the Stars Season 22.
• The combined careers of these 15 contestants span acting, music, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and high fashion, reflecting the show's enduring cultural impact.

About this list

This ranking is non-ranked — these 15 contestants are listed by overall career impact, beginning with the best-known names. We assessed career achievements using data from Celebrity Net Worth, Variety, and Extra TV. Success was evaluated across multiple dimensions: post-show modelling reach, acting credits, net worth, business ventures, advocacy, and cultural impact. We use the most up-to-date figures available at the time of publishing (November 2026).

Summary table

The 15 most successful ANTM contestants

Here are the fifteen most successful America's Next Top Model alumni, ordered with the most high-profile careers first.

Winnie Harlow

• Full name: Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young
• Date of birth: 27 July 1994
• Age: 32 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: Canadian
• Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.78 m)
• Profession: Supermodel, entrepreneur, spokesperson
• Net worth: $5 million (Celebrity Net Worth)
• Instagram: @winnieharlow

Winnie Harlow gained widespread recognition in 2014 as a contestant in the 21st cycle of America's Next Top Model. Discovered by Tyra Banks on Instagram, she became the first Canadian contestant on the show. Though initially eliminated early, Harlow won the comeback series, re-entering the main competition before finishing in sixth place.

Harlow has worked with major brands including Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Desigual, Diesel, Swarovski, Steve Madden, Nike, Puma, MAC, and Victoria's Secret. She was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018. More recently, she launched Cay Skin, a suncare line that has become a key pillar of her growing business portfolio.

Eva Marcille

• Full name: Eva Marcille Pigford
• Date of birth: 30 October 1984
• Age: 42 (as of 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Height: 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
• Profession: Actress, model, TV personality
• Net worth: $4 million
• Instagram: @evamarcille

On the show, this model was known as Eva Pigford, but she has since gone by Eva Marcille — her first and middle name. After winning the show's third season, she jumped into a successful modelling career and expanded into film and television.

Considered one of the most successful winners of the franchise, the TV personality has acted in many notable shows, including Smallville, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, and BET's All the Queen's Men. She also earned two NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for her work as Tyra Hamilton on The Young and the Restless from 2008 to 2009, alongside a main cast stint on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Yaya DaCosta

• Full name: Camara DaCosta Johnson
• Date of birth: 15 November 1982
• Age: 43 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
• Profession: Actress, model
• Net worth: $1 million
• Instagram: @yayadacosta

Born in Harlem, New York, DaCosta graduated from Brown University with a degree in Africana Studies and International Relations. She started gaining popularity when she joined Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model in 2004, finishing second in the show — appearing only once in the bottom two during the entire competition.

DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston. From 2015 to 2021, DaCosta starred in Chicago Med, and later became a recurring character on The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 before being elevated to a main cast role in Season 3.

Nyle DiMarco

• Full name: Nyle DiMarco
• Date of birth: 8 May 1989
• Age: 37 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Model, actor, deaf advocate
• Net worth: $2 million
• Instagram: @nyledimarco

Participating in Cycle 22, Nyle DiMarco became the second male model to win the competition, as well as the first deaf person. His win was followed immediately by an appearance on Dancing with the Stars, where he proved equally camera-ready off the runway.

Not only did DiMarco win Dancing with the Stars Season 22, but after his win, he went back to acting. He has appeared on Station 19 and This Close as Ben Genovese, among other projects. The American model also produced the Netflix show Deaf U in 2020 and the documentary Audible in 2021. He also founded the Nyle DiMarco Foundation, a non-profit that gives deaf children and their families more resources.

Lio Tipton

• Full name: Lio Tipton (born Analeigh Christian Tipton)
• Date of birth: 9 November 1988
• Age: 37 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Actor
• Net worth: $1.5 million

Lio Tipton quickly found success in Hollywood after finishing in third place on Cycle 11 of ANTM. Tipton is probably most recognisable for playing the babysitter in Crazy, Stupid, Love. In 2021, Tipton came out as nonbinary with a heartfelt Instagram message.

Tipton attended the premiere of Love Hurts in 2025, confirming they remain a consistent presence in Hollywood films. Their trajectory from ANTM's third-place finish to a credible acting career is one of the show's most striking examples of crossover success.

Isis King

• Full name: Isis King
• Date of birth: 1 October 1985
• Age: 41 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Model, actress, fashion designer
• Instagram: @isisking

Isis King was the first-ever trans model to appear on ANTM. She competed in both Cycle 11 and returned for the All-Stars edition of Cycle 17, making her one of the few contestants to appear twice. Since ANTM, Isis's career has included roles on The Bold and the Beautiful, Shameless, Netflix's When They See Us, and With Love on Prime.

King told Entertainment Weekly in 2025:

I first appeared on ANTM just about 18 years ago and I am still so fascinated by the effect it has had on pop culture.

Her groundbreaking appearance remains one of the most culturally significant moments in the show's history.

Toccara Jones

• Full name: Toccara Elaine Jones
• Date of birth: 13 March 1982
• Age: 44 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Model, TV personality, actress
• Net worth: $1.5 million
• Instagram: @iamtoccarajones

Toccara Jones first gained national attention on the third cycle of America's Next Top Model. Despite not winning the competition, her participation catapulted her into the modelling limelight. She became a trailblazer as one of the first curvy models to achieve mainstream visibility through a network reality competition.

Jones went on to sign with Wilhelmina Models as a plus-size model, appeared on the cover of several magazines including Black Hair, and became a television show host. She has hosted shows including 106 & Park, Take the Cake, and The Black Carpet.

Naima Mora

• Full name: Naima Mora
• Date of birth: 4 April 1984
• Age: 42 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Model, actress, playwright, director
• Instagram: @naimamora

America's Next Top Model Cycle 4 winner Naima Mora has done a great deal since her time on ANTM. These days she describes herself as "a multidisciplinary artist whose career spans modelling, acting, writing, public speaking and directing."

She wrote the off-Broadway one-woman show The Amazing Adventures of a Woman In Need and the book Model Behaviour. She is currently working on a documentary about her grandmother called Elizabeth Speaks, which is scheduled for release in June 2028. After ANTM, Mora was signed to multiple agencies, including Ford Models, Basic Models, 301 Model Management, and Paragon Models. As of February 2026, she is signed with the State Management Agency.

CariDee English

• Full name: Cari Dee English
• Date of birth: 23 September 1984
• Age: 42 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
• Profession: Model, photographer
• Net worth: $2 million
• Instagram: @carideeenglish

Cycle 7 of ANTM, the season CariDee English won, is to date the most-watched season on The CW, averaging 5.13 million viewers per episode. Her victory made her one of the show's most recognisable champions. Her editorial career included covers and features for Seventeen, Cover, Inked, and Social Life, with campaigns for JCPenney, Matrix, and Christian Siriano.

English highlights her role as a global ambassador for psoriasis as her most significant modelling job. She now works as a model and photographer and, according to her Instagram, is attending the Berklee School of Music.

Jaslene González

• Full name: Jaslene González
• Date of birth: 29 May 1986
• Age: 40 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American (Puerto Rican heritage)
• Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
• Profession: Model, TV host, trainer
• Net worth: $1 million
• Instagram: @jaslenegonzalez

Jaslene González is best known for winning the eighth cycle of America's Next Top Model. Her victory marked a rare comeback story in the franchise's history. She had been turned away at auditions for Cycle 7 before returning to claim the Cycle 8 title.

González left ANTM as a print and runway model and still models today. She also has her own training course called On Set with Jaslene and a jewellery collection called Starlite by J.

Dani Evans

• Full name: Danielle Evans
• Date of birth: 4 June 1985
• Age: 41 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
• Profession: Model, author
• Net worth: $500,000
• Instagram: @danievans1

Dani Evans is best known as the winner of Cycle 6 of America's Next Top Model. She was at the centre of the tooth-gap drama in Cycle 6, and went on to walk in Fashion Week shows and appear in magazines after ANTM.

The American author went on to write The Skinny on Getting In: An Inside Peek into the Fashion World for the Aspiring Model, and People magazine reports she started a hat company called Monrowe, while also working on her memoir.

Adrianne Curry

• Full name: Adrianne Curry-Rhode
• Date of birth: 6 August 1982
• Age: 44 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Model, Avon sales rep, former TV personality
• Net worth: $500,000
• Instagram: @adriannecurry

Adrianne Curry made ANTM history as the winner of the first cycle in 2003. The then-20-year-old went on to pose for magazines including Maxim and Playboy and appeared on several reality shows, such as The Surreal Life and World's Dumbest.

In a series of posts shared to social media in January 2026, Curry-Rhode said that while she's "deeply grateful" to have won ANTM's first cycle in 2003, she objects to revisiting the show and declined to participate in the Netflix docuseries. She is now living a quieter life, and DailyMail.com reports she lives with her husband Matthew Rhode, a voice actor and Twitch streamer, in Montana.

Yoanna House

• Full name: Yoanna House
• Cycle: Cycle 2, Winner
• Profession: Model, TV host
• Instagram: @yomania

Yoanna House came out on top as the winner of Cycle 2, consistently showing enthusiasm and knowledge of the industry that surpassed her competitors. Since then, she worked on a number of different projects, hosting a reality show called Queen Bees in 2008 and becoming the face of The CW around the time of its launch in 2006.

Leila Goldkuhl

• Full name: Leila Goldkuhl
• Cycle: Cycle 19 (College Edition), eliminated
• Nationality: American
• Profession: High-fashion model
• Insatgram: @leilss4reals

Leila Goldkuhl's elimination from ANTM's "college edition" season led to a contract with Next Model Management and a career in high fashion. She was photographed walking for Givenchy during Paris Fashion Week in July 2019. Her post-show résumé demonstrates that an ANTM win is by no means a prerequisite for genuine industry success.

Ann Ward

• Full name: Ann Ward
• Date of birth: 7 December 1991
• Age: 34 (as of November 2026)
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Artist, illustrator, animator
• Cycle: Cycle 15, Winner

Fan-favourite Ann Ward won Cycle 15 of ANTM in 2010. Ann Ward decided not to pursue a career in modelling. According to her website, she returned to "her first love: art and animation." She works as an artist and illustrator and lives in Dallas.

Ward now works as a UI artist and illustrator, sharing her graphic designs on social media. She also creates concepts for anime, comic books, and mobile apps. Her pivot is one of the more unusual post-ANTM stories — a winner who chose personal passion over industry convention.

FAQs

Who is the most successful America's Next Top Model contestant of all time?

Winnie Harlow, Eva Marcille, Yaya DaCosta, Analeigh Tipton, and Nyle DiMarco are considered some of the most successful models to emerge from the franchise. By global reach and brand visibility, Winnie Harlow edges ahead, with campaigns for luxury houses and her own beauty brand, Cay Skin, cementing her as the show's biggest star.

Did Winnie Harlow actually win ANTM?

Though initially eliminated early, the Canadian actress and model won the comeback series, re-entering the main competition before finishing in sixth place. She did not take home the ANTM title, but since making her mark on the show, she has unabashedly made the world know she's here to stay.

What is Eva Marcille doing now?

After ANTM, Eva Marcille transitioned to acting and landed roles in projects like Smallville, The Young and the Restless, and her gig on BET's All the Queen's Men. She also appeared as a main cast member on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

What did Nyle DiMarco do after winning ANTM?

Not only did Nyle DiMarco win Dancing with the Stars Season 22, but after his win, he went back to acting. Nyle also produced the Netflix show Deaf U in 2020 and the documentary Audible in 2021. He continues to advocate for the deaf community through the Nyle DiMarco Foundation.

Which ANTM contestant transitioned away from modelling most notably?

Ann Ward, who won Cycle 15, stepped away from the runway entirely. According to her website, she returned to "her first love: art and animation." She's working as an artist and illustrator and living in Dallas. In her free time, Ward enjoys Dungeons & Dragons gaming, gardening, and has a strong love of palaeontology.

We also highlighted facts about the richest American Idol contestants, led by Carrie Underwood, with an estimated net worth of $120 million. The list also features Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert.

Underwood's fortune is more than double Clarkson's, the runner-up, and reflects a career built on more than 85 million records sold worldwide. The rankings also show how contestants who did not win, including Lambert and Hudson, went on to build significant careers.

Source: Legit.ng