When Adrianne Curry was crowned the first-ever winner of America’s Next Top Model back in 2003, the world seemed to open up for her. She had just triumphed on a national stage, earning both a modeling contract and a magazine spread—a gateway to international fame.
Today, however, Curry’s life couldn’t have turned out to be more different. Instead of high-fashion glamour and rubbing shoulders with celebrities at events such as the Met Gala, the former reality star now spends her days selling Avon products and sharing beauty trips online.
Highlights
- Adrianne Curry, first-ever ANTM winner, now sells Avon products in Montana, far from the high-fashion life she once dreamed of.
- She's ultimately thankful for not being involved in an industry she deems "cutthroat" and "predatory."
- Curry also no longer holds hard feelings toward Tyra Banks, seeing her as another survivor in the ruthless entertainment industry.
Describing herself as a “has-been,” the 42-year-old recently reflected on her life trajectory in a TikTok video. Her fame, once a promise of glory and riches, has faded to the point of being a painful reminder.
“People come up to me and they are sure we went to school together,” she said, recounting awkward encounters with people on the street. “I’m too humiliated to say I used to be on TV because that just seems weird.”
First-ever winner of America's Next Top Model now makes a living selling Avon products
Image credits: Frazer Harrison / Getty
The times people do recognize her, however, are not always pleasant. “She's just that model chick from TV, the really annoying one,” she remembered one person telling her.
Curry currently keeps a low profile in Montana’s Crown of the Continent, where she moved in 2018 with her husband, voice actor Matthew Rhode.
Instead of signing lucrative contracts with luxury brands, she earns a living running an online Avon business, connecting with fans and followers through social media.
Image credits: Jean-Paul Aussenard / Getty
The former TV personality’s content has resonated deeply with her audience, who have come to empathize with her honesty, humility, and transparency when discussing topics such as beauty, aging, and self-acceptance.
Her present-day persona stands in stark contrast to the glamorous promise of America’s Next Top Model, a show she says left her feeling “betrayed and lied to,” and connected her with the darkest aspects of human nature.
Instead of becoming a model, Curry became a reality TV personality, until ultimately leaving the industry for good
Image credits: adriannecurry
In a 2024 interview with People Magazine, she described the modeling industry as “cutthroat,” “predatory,” and full of broken promises. “It is what it is,” she said. “It prepared me for the awful truth that I couldn't trust anybody—and even knowing that, I still got screwed over.”
Image credits: adriannecurry
The flame of her fame didn’t fizzle out immediately; it slowly waned on roles such as The Surreal Life and VH1’s My Fair Brady—a show that led her to what she described as a “trainwreck marriage” with actor Christopher Knight.
Their on-screen relationship, which unfolded across three seasons of reality television, culminated in a public proposal, a 2006 wedding, and, ultimately, a “deeply embarrassing” divorce in 2013.
Image credits: adriannecurry
While the relationship might’ve seemed loving and genuine to some viewers, Curry clarified that it was mostly fake, with the couple putting their “best foot forward because [they] knew [they] were being filmed,” adding that “it was way worse with the cameras off.”
Image credits: Steve Granitz / Getty
Her experiences as a reality TV star remain a difficult memory to look back on, coming to the conclusion that much like her fake on-screen marriage, her dreams of becoming a professional model were also built on a false foundation.
“I was becoming corrupted,” she said, explaining that her America’s Next Top Model victory did more harm than good in the long run.
Curry is now thankful that she didn't end up becoming a model, labeling the industry as "ruthless"
Curry now sees her past with a blend of regret and gratitude, with a surprising appreciation for the person that she didn’t end up becoming.
“I’m grateful that things didn't pan out the way they were supposed to because I don’t think I would be a very good person if I had found major success in modeling,” she explained.
In her newfound clarity, Curry now sees the modeling world for what it truly is—not glamorous, but exploitative. In her own words, “That’s the industry. It is cutthroat. It is lying. It is predatory.”
Image credits: adriannecurry
Her disillusionment also appears to extend to ANTM host and creator Tyra Banks. In past blog posts and interviews, Curry has hinted at feeling discarded after being used as the face of a new franchise, only to be excluded from its legacy once cameras stopped rolling.
While she admitted to having been angry at the host in the past, she now sees her as yet another victim of the system, doing whatever she can to survive in the ruthless show business.
“I wish Tyra well in her life and have no hard feelings anymore. She is a woman looking out for herself in a world where no one else gives a shit about you,” she said.
“Being cutthroat and numb to others in that industry is the only way to get ahead.”
"A real person." Curry's fans praised her for her honesty and vulnerability
