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A special fashion show last week in Los Angeles revealed the cast of the upcoming edition. The contenders of color will include:

Camille McDonald: the cocky, slightly delusional contestant from Cycle 2
Bre Scullark: the second runner-up from Cycle 5 who has since landed a contract with Garnier
Bianca Golden: the Cycle 9 finalist who later got herself arrested for fighting with the chick from Hairspray
Dominique Reighard: the third runner-up from Cycle 10 who has since become the face of Carol’s Daughter
Isis King: the infamous transgender contestant from Cycle 11
Angelea Preston: a second runner-up from Cycle 14

Also:

Brittany Brower: the goofy Janice Dickinson look-a-like from Cycle 4
Lisa D’Amato: the wino from Cycle 5

Read about the rest of the cast HERE!

A lot of these women came damn close to taking the title during their respective seasons, so we can expect that with A-list personalities and A-list talent, this season should make for good TV. We might actually start watching again.

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At the time, the 6’2″ Texan claimed she had the “world’s smallest waist,” which Miss J Alexander then put both of his hands around until his fingers met.

Tyra Banks later apologized for airing the clip as a promo for the show, but the incident didn’t stop Ann from winning the modeling contract, spread in Italian Vogue and $100,000 Cover Girl Cosmetics contract.

Being so tall and so thin made Ann the subject of taunting and staring during adolescence, but it proved an asset in photo shoots as she won five best photos in a row, a feat never before accomplished on “Top Model.”

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“A lot of designers and people in the fashion industry are feeling like the future of fashion is not just still photos, but they’ve been doing mini movies where the models are acting things out,” Banks, 36, explains.

“I have to tell you that I have a whole new respect for directors through this process! It looks easy, but it ain’t.”

The film, which aired at the end of Wednesday’s episode, was shot at a castle in Verona, Italy, and incorporated high-fashion outfits, boyish looks, and crying scenes that channeled an “over-the-top Italian drama.”

After saying goodbye to her daytime talk show earlier this year, Banks is focusing on the launch of Bankable Studios, a N.Y.-based film production company. SOURCE

See the video here.

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Judge Andre Leon Talley was there for the event as well. Take a look at the photos:

Our friends at PopEater got to sit down with Tyra and talk to her about the new season. Here’s what she had to say:

Top Model was one of the first times we saw plus-size models treated equally, now it’s a trend. Do you feel responsible?
Tyra: I am actually really, really happy. When I pitched the idea of ‘Top Model’ to the network, I said I have to have plus sized models and that was a different time, so they were like, “eh whatever”. Now to see V magazine and Glamour and Chanel and Marc Jacobs embracing it. It’s great. The thing is we have to make sure it isn’t just a trend. Women’s bodies come in so many different sizes, I am hoping it is not a trend and we can continue the different looks.

Click here for the full interview on PopEater.com!

We can’t wait! The first episode premieres at 8pm EST on the CW.

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The model chimed in on Tyra’s recent thin-waisted model controversy. She told Dailymalk.co.uk:

Thompson has also stepped in to defend America’s Next Top Model’s host Tyra Banks who was embroiled in controversy recently after she was seen putting her hands around the waist of an extremely thin contestant on the latest series of the show.

‘Tyra supports women of all sizes as long as they are healthy,’ she says. ‘I do not fault her reaction to seeing such a tiny waist.

‘Tyra remains a leading figure in the fight for body equality in the fashion industry.’

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Tyra was seen filming the next season of America’s Next Top Model in Beverly Hills.

Tyra wore a chic pinstripe suit and got goofy on the set:

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Congrats are in order, of course, but would you still consider her “plus-size”?

And Check Out This Week’s Exclusive Interview: VIDEO: Toni Braxton Admits To Having A “Cougar Crush” & Blaming Herself For Son’s Autism

And check out some other “plus-size” models of color.

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When Yaya DaCosta appeared on “America’s Next Top Model,” she divided the viewing audience right in half with her smart, but mostly snooty attitude. You either loved her or hated her. But, then she lost to Eva Marcille (last name then Pigford), and was subsequently forgotten about. Until now.

Esquire Magazine has named her the Woman Of The Summer:

Yaya DaCosta was the “smart one” and runner-up on season three of America’s Next Top Model, so when she visits schools to speak about global environmentalism, it’s hard for some to forget.

“Most of the questions will be thought provoking, whether it’s about responsible consumerism or global warming or Haiti,” DaCosta says. “Then someone will ask, ‘Is Tyra Banks nice?’”

DaCosta holds degrees in international relations and Africana studies from Brown University, is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and since Top Model ended, has landed roles in movies like “The Messenger,” “Take the Lead,” and the upcoming “The Kids Are All Right.” During college, she hadn’t planned on modeling or acting at all: “The thing at the top of my list was going to Geneva for an intensive in interpreting.” She would’ve been a great asset to foreign diplomacy, but we’re glad she chose otherwise.

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She also appears in the June issue of Essence Magazine: