America’s Next Top Model: Who Is Janice Dickinson?

Although being judged on your appearance and encouraged (at least societally) to weigh as little as possible is never going to lay the groundwork for a healthy, long-lasting career, it’s about time the modelling industry faced a reckoning. Where better to start than the prolific reality competition that ran for 24 seasons, America’s Next Top Model?

The three-part Netflix documentary, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, has finally arrived and charts the show’s cultural impact, controversies and legacy. Featuring the host Tyra Banks, as well as judges and contestants from the show’s history, it’s set to examine ANTM’s darker side – pulling no punches.

One such former judge is Janice Dickinson, who appeared on four cycles of the series between 2003 and 2006. While she does not feature in the documentary, she is certainly mentioned. Here’s everything you need to know about her.

Who is Janice Dickinson?

Janice Dickinson is an American model, TV personality and businesswoman. She was a judge on four series of ANTM. In 2005, she opened a modelling agency which was documented on the reality series, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, between 2006-2008.

In 2007, she appeared on series seven of I’m a Celebrity and finished in second place. In 2015, she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.

She has also starred in films like The Self-Destruction of Gia (2003), Wassup Rockers (2005), Bob Thunder: Internet Assassin (2015) and the documentary Bill Cosby: Walking Free. Janice alleges that Cosby raped her in 1982. She was one of five accusers to testify in Cosby’s sexual assault retrial. In 2021, Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction leading to his release from prison. Cosby denies the allegations.

How old is Janice Dickinson?

Janice Dickinson is 71 years old and was born on 16 February 1955.

Janice Dickinson’s modelling career

Janice moved to New York in the early 1970s to pursue modelling after winning a competition called Miss High Fashion Model. She later signed with Ford Models and landed a campaign for a new JVC camera.

By the ’80s she was considered a supermodel, appearing on the covers of Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Photo, Vogue, Marie Claire and Playboy.

In 2003, she became a judge on ANTM where she was known for her brutally harsh critique and insights about the pitfalls of the fashion industry. She would often butt heads with her fellow judges, particularly Kimora Lee Simmons and Nole Marin, and clashed with Banks about plus-size models.

After four series, Tyra fired Janice and she was replaced with Twiggy. ‘I was just telling the truth and I was saving these girls from going out there and being told that they’re too short, too far, their skin’s not good enough,’ she said at the time. ‘I was to America’s Next Top Model what Simon Cowell is to American Idol.’

Was Janice Dickinson in the America’s Next Top Model documentary?

No, Janice does not feature in the documentary herself, but she is mentioned by multiple people. Former judges on the show discuss her brutal attitude to judging and recall how she and Tyra would frequently butt heads.

The documentary features several troubling clips where Janice can be seen calling models fat, telling them to lose weight and using racist, derogatory language.

She has previously said she has no regrets about her behaviour on the show. ‘Um, no. It was acting. And that’s that,’ she said. ‘People forget that TV is acting.’ However, she has not yet commented on the new Netflix documentary.

Is Janice Dickinson married?

Janice has been married four times. Her ex-husbands include Ron Levy, Simon Fields and Alan B Gersten. She has been married to Robert Gerner since 2016. She has a son called Nathan and a daughter called Savannah.

When Savannah was born, Janice was having an affair with Sylvester Stallone so it was reported that he might be the father. When the DNA test proved he wasn’t, the relationship ended.

Nikki Peach is a senior writer at Grazia, working across news, entertainment, features. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).