(Ooh, my first ever thread... How does this thing work? Ooh eff, I broke my ring(less) finger nail! Yeah, anyways...)

Although some of the older models in this show have been hilarious and created lots of great drama and great photography (Robin, Jade, Camille, Amanda C3...), it seems very awkward of them being in the show right in the first place. Didn't Kimora Lee Simmons start her career in the age of 13, and I can't belive I can't remember the age Tyra started in... In the recent cycles the girls seem to have gotten younger, but then again, is that any good because most of the 'older' models (including Joanie, Melrose, Yoanna, April, Nicole C3, Christina, The Lisa, Furonda and even Nnenna and Mollie Sue) have been more confident, interesting and talented than the barely legal modelettes who are still in the search of themselves... I myself do not know. Germany's and Australia's Next Top Model allow girls under 18 to participate - should or COULD the same work in America, too?

OH MY GAWD, how could I not notice this isn't wikipedia? Liek, that was my point. So yes, no list anymore. This is nothing but a discussion now, so perhaps it's existence is allowed. Fank thee.

It's unrealistic for Tyra and company to cast most of the girls they cast - they're too old or the wrong size or whatever. These girls are cast for their drama potential (I assume). I'd like to see a more realistic crop of hamsters but Tyra can't cast 13 anorexic 15-year-olds. It would make for a very screechy and weepy season if she did. Plus, I don't think they could go overseas without their parents (or some other legal trickery). I think it would be interesting if in the coming seasons, some of the hamsters were underage but had themselves declared emancipated or something along those lines. Imagine the cliques that would form then: the 'old bitches' who are legal to drink vs. the 'jailbait'. The drama would crank up to levels not previously seen but on the flip side, a lot of that drama would be stupid, adolescent and about nothing (so... not much different there, I guess). Also, the amount of screaming on the show (which is already really annoyingly high) would increase to an unacceptable level.

So I guess I'm torn. I would totally watch a modeling competition that featured no one over the age of 18 but I also love the delusional chicks Tyra parades before us year after year.


One thing I DEFINITELY think is that they should cast a couple of boys. Boys model. Boys would bring an interesting dynamic to the proceedings, to say the least.

I'm watching C6 on MTV right now and I was surprised because I never realized before that Mollie Sue was 25 on the show. So while it's a rare case, I guess it works sometimes.

It wouldn't work either way, not well, anyway... the girls she casts are usually too old by the modelling industry's obnoious standards, and there'd e a LOT of legal mumbo-jumbo and so much more involved if she tried casting girls who are actually the "acceptable" age to start modelling (I never did get why girls THAT YOUNG are considered the most acceptable to start careers. Then again, I think the modelling industry is overinflated, egotistical, unhealthy and full of shit anyway. So maybe I'm just missing something).

Sad, too because some of the girls who are "too old" are DAMN good models.

IMO you never know who is a good model. For example, most of the girls in C7 were 18 (Amanda, Brooke, Jaeda, Megg, Michelle), but half of them sucked ass, whereas Mollie Sue, despite being 25, is one of the most successful hamsters to be on the show. Also, C8 Cassandra, even though she didn't do too well on the show, has some pretty fierce pre-show work.

I never want to see that. All boys that age will do is (assuming they aren't gay) is talk like frat boys and go on at length about who is the most fuckable of the girls and how much they had to drink last night. I like the overabundance of estrogen on the show, it makes the drama ridiculously campy as opposed to full of strained "who slept with who" crap.

In my opinion Y-chromosome doesn't make good TV.

Anyways, could some of you nice people give me some birthdates of the girls, please? Or do we know none? (I know I know none)

Just a suggestion - for the girls who have myspace, you can find their zodiac signs and thus ballpark their birthdays (at least get a likely month) pretty easily. Or, if you're really dedicated, you could slog through their comments and probably find 75 posts reading "HaPpY bIrFdAy!!" on the actual date. It's more work than I'd care to do, but it would probably work for some of them.

I'll let this thread stand for now, but it needs to be a discussion of contestant age and how that affects the events of the show. This isn't Wikipedia; we don't need a database of contestant birthdays. Stay on topic and we'll see how this thread goes.

That kinda kills it right there lol. I can't, for the life of me, see any kind of correlation between age and placement on the show...

Wikipedia must have the wrong information for C3 Nicole, but she was only 21 on the show according to preshow stats. According to her MySpace, she is currently 24, so 21 would make sense.

In AusNTM, they had 16 as the youngest age and in the end, the winner was like 19, behind her came a 16/17 y/o and behind her was a just 18 y/o. They had separate rooms for the "adults" and the "kids" and while some of the younger ones were rather immature (a girl named Paloma comes to mind), they seemed very closely monitoried and well cared for.

I think my point is that, while not knowing the laws in America, why couldn't they lower the age to 16 and set a top limit of maybe 23 and get girls who are young enough to have a real career and not be deluded into thinking they could even though they are way too old (Robin from C1 springs to mind). And there would still be drama. There was drama in AusNTM. It's the main thing that gets me about ANTM. I love it, don't get me wrong, but they pick completely unsuitable people for the sake of drama, unsuitable in terms of age and looks, though not really getting into looks here. And while it's all very fun, it would be nice to know that these people you're rooting for (or not) can actually genuinely succeed. You can make a good reality show whilst also keeping the drama, look at Project Runway.

I don't know if any of you watched A Model Life on TLC with Petra Nemcova (whom I now love. Now HERS is an "altruistic, charitable model/mentor" stance I buy), but it just struck me how knowledgeable and realistic the majority of the girls were about the modeling world (yes, even Beatrice, the poor girl). Two of the girls at the time were 16, and I'm pretty sure the oldest was 19 or 20. Now certainly, this is a documentary-style show and all the girls were relatively established, had smaller agencies, or at least some sort of experience.

Anyway, to get back on topic, it's a matter of the show's direction. Tyra's called this "dramality"-it's not meant on television to be seen as an in-depth look into the modeling industry, it's more like they've crammed all the extremes into a "crash course" that kind of sucker punches the girls. All it seems to want to say to the girls is that it's not as easy as it looks. And it's also running in the reality show tradition of fulfilling a dream. So it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 25.

Its problem is that it's so centered on the idea of doing everything-commercial work, high fashion, editorial, runway, et cetera. Any one of these girls could probably find some modeling work. Renee could get work in a more mature market and there is no harm in that. There is modeling work available for those past puberty, but it doesn't necessarily fit into the "glamorous supermodel" work the show claims to look for, or that the contestants necessarily want.

I wonder if there is indeed an age limit. Not that I'm expecting any 30 year olds to try out, but if the judges are tired of bitching about the girl that photographs too old, cut it off at 24 or 25-that way, you'll still get the flukes like Mollie Sue, Joanie, or even Nnenna (cycle 6 was on, whatever) that can still appear young. And there is the possibility of lowering the minimum to 16, which I don't honestly see a problem with. If they're tall and skinny-number one, which isn't even criteria anymore, and number two, 16 year olds can give you a sob story-and balanced enough not to have fits of angst, why not. There'll be issues with parental consent and waivers and the like, but since the show would rather these girls "model through it" than recover from dehydration or food poisoning, they can skate over it.

Like I'm expecting anything realistic!

Don't they still do a nude shot every year? It'll be very uncomfortable to watch underaged girls taking nude pictures. That's just creepy and I think it falls under Child Pornography. Even if it's blurred out, there are still many adults on the set seeing the non-blurred version.

I'm sorry, but I can't take any little kids, the immatureness is insane. Been there are as an high schooler and I definitely don't want to watch it on tv.

You have to be 18 to be on the show, right? That's "legal" in America.

You can do implied nude shots (which is what they do on ANTM) and be underaged. One of my favorite shots of Chanel Iman (who is 16) is an implied nude she did for Louis Vuitton, I think?

To have under-18s on the show:
- A parent or legal guardian would have to live with the hamster
- Said hamster would have to attend school for a certain number of hours a day
- Child labor laws would have to be enacted during photo shoots (thus, no "break downs" at the long days)

The show doesn't want to bother with that. Even if they don't have to pay for the parent's expenses (AI doesn't pay for the parent to live in LA, but it is required for the child to be on the show), they have to deal with the parent being involved and living with the child, whether separately or just in a room in the house. Either way, parental figures = less drama and mayhem. No "YOU HAD SEX?????" if there's a parent around. (Conversely, since Petra's show is a documentary style, and the girls live their normal lives, they are living the life they would have normally had, with a parent, etc. They are not being exposed to contrived events for the purpose of drama.)

Regardless of how good it would be to "realistically represent" the modelling world, it would not be good for the show....as the show is represented right now, that is.

There is. According to the eligibility requirements, you have to be between 18 and 27 at the time of application. You also have to be at least 5'7, so we can guess how thoroughly the eligibility requirements are enforced.

I agree with GoodThings, the show would have to have so many restrictions placed upon it to have under 18 girls on it, it would be unwatchable.

Plus, no offense to anyone who may be under 18, but most teenage girls are just plain obnoxious and annoying, and not in a fun watchable way.

And though the norm in the fashion world is to get girls when they're 13, I think the American fashion world (pathetic though it may be) is moving away from that trend, probably due to all the major restrictions under 18 year olds have. And I'm sure Tyra doesn't support the 13 year old model trend either, especially since I can't think of a single time she ever called any of the models out for looking too old (that is usually something Nigel or Janice did).

I nominate Janice Dickinson for house mother. She's a member of the PTA, you know. I think Elyse has the right attitude by capitalizing on her youth now before she starts medical school later. She's smart in so many ways.

Not all straight guys act like dumb frat boys at that age, for what it's worth. Some of them are complete bitches beyond Monique, some of them are capable of using proper grammar and bringing the snark like Elyse, and some of them can bring the camp better than C7 Jaslene. They'd easily be able to find ones that aren't so idiotic and immature at 18 that the following conversation could be avoided.

Tyra: So Johnny, today you had to pose as a classic film, A Streetcar Named Desire.
Johnny: Yo brah, that was totally hard, yo. It was all wet and stuff. At least I hit that PA hard, if you know what I'm saying, brah.
Tyra: Thank you, Johnny.

Seriously, the bigger issue with age and gender is that Tyra has said no one would watch a Top Model with guys, she's not interested in a Top Model with guys, and hence will never make a Top Model with guys.

There'd be plenty of drama, especially of the "You had SEX?!?!?!?!?" variety with desperate phone calls home to the boyfriend/girlfriend, as well as gender clashes and privacy issues, which could be pretty amusing.

And while it might be more realistic to have teenage girls on the show, a lot of male models actually start at an older age than the female variety, and seem to have a longer shelf life as well, so it would be more likely that a 27 year old guy could get on the show, act like an engaging mature adult, and do well in the competition.

While I agree that not all straight guys act like dumb frat boys, I would imagine that most American guys who have the confidence to pursue modeling DO act like dumb frat boys. The high-fashion European guys seem nice and down-to-earth (ie Vincent LaCrocq and Henry Barnacle), but most of the musclehead commercial models seem like total douchebags. One must look only to Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency for proof. J.P. was the most appealing, and well... even he was awful on Survivor.

Stereotypes are awful, I know, but still... I probably wouldn't bother watching. I could barely sit through episode 1 of Manhunt.

I turned 23 on my last birthday and it was a scary thought when I realized that if I got on ANTM, I would probably be the "old hag." Not that I would ever be on ANTM for a host of reasons, but it's depressing. I am not old!

There was an episode from the season with Jade and Danielle (s5? s6?)--I think the episode where they did the "When I Grow Up" photo shoot--and Tyra said something like, "You have to remember to plan for the future. Yeah, when I was 16, I was walking every runway in Paris, but I knew that when I retired at the age of 23, I'd have to have another plan." That struck me as a spectacularly rude and smug thing to say, considering that at least of the contestants that season were over the age of 23--Jade, Molllie Sue, Joanie. It's almost as if she was acknowledging was a joke the contestants on the show were, but in a "cute," self-flattering kind of way.

Not to forget Furonda and Nnenna - seriously, I consider cycle 6 my favourite and most of the girls were overage!

Yeah... I watched a part o Australia's Next Top Model the other day, where the age limit is 16 (not 18), and it's hella boring. The underagers can stir up drama, but if you think Bianca is highschool, man... I wanted to gag myself with a Twizzler! The drama of twenty-somethings is always more interesting, if equally petty.

I just noticed recently that Furonda was 24 at the time. I never thought of her as one of the "old" contestants

I had totally forgotten that Bianca was only 18. I swear, some of these hamsters look older than my friends who are in their late 20's/early 30's, all the while acting younger than high school girls.

I'd like the see a whole season made up of Jade/Lisa/Amanda-types. That is, contestants who have been working as models for awhile, and who know what they are doing, but just want this one last break before they get too old. I think that would be a lot more interesting than watching girls learn how to pose/walk, and the prize would be realistic for where they are in their careers.

excelent idea, Poor Grace

I think this might just be because of the model "look" - a woman with a skinny face and strong cheekbones always looks older, I think, than a woman with a round face and softer features. Maybe that can be Tyra's new campaign - real size models! round faces! girls that are too short and too old! yeehaw!