Lisa D'Amato is the kind of person who makes you feel like you’ve just downed three espressos while standing in the middle of a windstorm. If you watched America's Next Top Model back in the mid-2000s, you remember her. She was the one talking to bushes. She was the one who peed in a diaper during a challenge. She was, quite frankly, a producer’s dream and a fellow contestant’s nightmare. But beneath the "Wild Child" edit that the UPN (and later The CW) cameras loved so much, there’s a story that’s way more complicated than just a reality TV trope.
Honestly, Lisa D'Amato might be the most polarizing figure to ever walk Tyra Banks’ runway. You either loved her "tell it like it is" energy or you thought she was sucking all the oxygen out of the room. When she first appeared on Cycle 5, she didn't just compete; she dominated the narrative. She was 24, which in "model years" is basically ancient, and she knew it. She had been modeling since she was 12, booking gigs with GAP and H&M before she ever stepped foot in the ANTM house. That experience made her helpful to the younger girls, sure, but it also made her incredibly cocky.
The Cycle 17 Chaos and the Win Nobody Saw Coming
Fast forward to 2011. The show decides to do an "All-Stars" cycle. They bring back the fan favorites, the villains, and the ones who just had big personalities. Lisa returns, but the industry has changed. Social media is starting to bloom. Branding is the new buzzword. While the other girls are trying to look like high-fashion mannequins, Lisa is leaning into being a "personality." She’s rapping. She’s selling a fragrance called "Neon." She’s basically a walking billboard for herself.
Then came the finale. This is where things get weird.
If you look at the history of Lisa D'Amato America's Next Top Model wins, it's shrouded in more mystery than a David Lynch movie. For years, rumors swirled that Angelea Preston had actually won the competition. Then, suddenly, Angelea was disqualified. The show gave some cryptic explanation about "information that came to light" after filming. It was later revealed that Angelea’s past as an escort—which she claimed production knew about from the jump—was the reason she was stripped of her crown.
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They had to reshoot the finale. Lisa and Allison Harvard were the last two standing. When Lisa was crowned the winner, the internet basically broke. Allison fans were livid. They felt Lisa was too "commercial" or "too old." But Lisa didn't care. She took the $100,000 contract with CoverGirl and the spread in Vogue Italia and ran with it.
Why the "Wild Child" Turned Into a Whistleblower
You’d think winning would make her the show’s biggest cheerleader. Nope.
In recent years, Lisa has become one of the most vocal critics of Tyra Banks and the entire ANTM machine. She hasn't held back. She’s compared the experience to the Stanford Prison Experiment, claiming the psychological toll on the contestants was devastating. In 2021, she took to Instagram to post a long, fiery message to Tyra, accusing the show of exploiting her childhood trauma for ratings. She’s talked about how they pushed her to talk about her past and then edited it to make her look unstable.
It’s a stark contrast to the girl who used to run around in masks and wigs. Lisa D'Amato today is a woman who seems determined to dismantle the legacy of the very show that made her famous. She’s pointed out the "cult-like" atmosphere and the lack of support for the girls once the cameras stopped rolling. Whether you believe her or think she’s just bitter, you can’t deny she’s brave for biting the hand that fed her.
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Life After the Runway: Shark Tank and Survival
So, what does an All-Star do when the modeling world scoffs at her portfolio? She innovates.
Lisa shifted into the "mommy-preneur" space. She co-founded a product called Dare-U-Go!, which is basically a 5-in-1 bib and food container for toddlers. She actually took it onto Shark Tank and landed a deal with Barbara Corcoran. It’s kind of wild to see the woman who once had a conversation with a bush named "Cousin It" sitting across from Mark Cuban talking about profit margins and silicone manufacturing.
But her personal life hasn't been a smooth ride. Recently, her name has popped up in some pretty heavy headlines regarding a custody battle with her former husband, Adam Friedman. There have been reports of her losing custody and some pretty erratic behavior captured on video. It’s a sad turn for someone who spent years trying to heal from her own childhood trauma.
What We Can Learn From the Lisa D'Amato Saga
The story of Lisa D'Amato isn't just about a reality show. It’s a case study in what happens when the "fame" you’re given is built on a foundation of exploitation.
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- Reality isn't real: Producers are there to build a character, not a person. Lisa was cast as the "unhinged veteran," and she played the part so well she couldn't escape it.
- The pivot is everything: When the fashion world wouldn't take her seriously after the show, she didn't just give up. She moved into music, then business.
- Trauma is a commodity: In the early 2000s, "trauma-dumping" on camera was encouraged because it made for "good TV." We’re only now seeing the long-term effects of that on the people who lived it.
If you’re looking to follow her current journey, your best bet is to check her YouTube channel or Instagram, but be warned—she is still as unfiltered as she was in 2005. She’s currently dealing with some massive legal hurdles and family issues, which she often documents with brutal, sometimes uncomfortable, honesty.
If you want to understand the reality TV boom of the 2000s, you have to look at Lisa. She was the prototype. She was "daring," just like her branding term on the show. But being daring comes with a price, and it looks like she’s still paying it.
Next Steps for You:
If you're following the legal developments or business side of Lisa's career, you can monitor the Dare-U-Go! website for product updates or follow her verified social media accounts to see her latest statements regarding the ANTM production. You might also want to look up Angelea Preston's interviews with Bustle or Nylon to get the other side of that infamous Cycle 17 disqualification.