Copyright 2008 Ian White / Bravo
Supermodels Tyson Beckford and Niki Taylor host Bravo's new reality series.
Joining the ranks of TYRA BANKS' "America's Next Top Model" and PETRA NEMCOVA's "A Model Life" is Bravo's entry into the search for the next hot model, "Make Me a Supermodel." The reality show is hosted by TYSON BECKFORD and NIKI TAYLOR, both supermodels in their own right.
One thing that won't be featured on the series is too-skinny models, as one of the women who hoped to make it to the final 14 was eliminated because she was judged to be too thin.
"We definitely want to set a good example and let people know that the eating disorder models are not what's hot," Tyson tells ET. "I don't care what they think. It is not hot to me to be anorexic. And to those designers that are still using them, shame on them."
Premiering Thursday, January 10, at 10 p.m. on Bravo, what makes "Supermodel" different from the other shows is the fact that half of its contestants are male, and that viewers will decide who wins the $100,000 prize, a modeling contract with New York Model Management, and a fashion pictorial in GQ magazine.
None of the final 14 are younger than 19 in an industry where youth is celebrated, so does Tyson see that as a stumbling block for the contestants to go on to a successful modeling career?
"I started at 22, so it is definitely different for guys than girls," he comments. "I think Europe takes them around 14. The U.S. likes them to be a bit older, around 18, because it is so much easier to deal with them than a stage mom, so no [it shouldn't be a problem]."
Judges for the show include JENNIFER STARR, a prominent print fashion casting director, and CORY BAUTISTA, agency director of New York Model Management, along with Tyson and Niki.
Here are the 14 finalists:
ARYN LIVINGSTON, 20, Lownesboro, AL
BEN DiCHIARA, 22, Nashville, TN
CASEY SKINNER, 19, Atlanta, GA
DOMINIC PRIETTO, 25, Orange County, CA
FRANKIE GODOY, 20, Miami, FL
HOLLY KISER, 21, Coeburn, VA
JACKI HYDOCK, 21, Cleveland, OH
JAY McGEE, 22, Roswell, GA
KATY CASWELL, 21, Auburn, AL
PERRY ULLMANN, 22, Los Angeles, CA
RONNIE KROELL, 24, Chicago, IL
SARAH SWARTZ, 20, Miami, FL
SHANNON PALLAY, 22, Fort Lauderdale, FL
STEPHANIE BULGER, 21, Plano, TX