Lisa D’Amato spent years being dismissed as reality TV’s loudest troublemaker. Then, at 30 years old, she walked away with a title most contestants half her age never got close to. Today she’s back in headlines — not for a runway, but for calling out the show that made her famous.
Here’s the full story of who she is, how she won America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars, and what she’s doing now.
Lisa D’Amato: Who Is She?
Lisa Marie D’Amato was born on October 22, 1980, in Los Angeles, California. She’s an American model, recording artist, and television personality, and she stands 5’8″, with agency representation that has included L.A. Models, Q Models, and Nous Models.
Her parents split when she was seven, and her mother raised her on her own from there. D’Amato entered the modeling world early, booking her first jobs at age 12 — nearly two decades before her name became attached to one of reality TV’s most talked-about competitions.
Lisa D’Amato’s ANTM Journey: From Cycle 5 to All-Stars Champion
Lisa D’Amato in Cycle 5: The Contestant Nobody Forgot
D’Amato says a group of friends dared her to send in an audition tape for America’s Next Top Model, and it took her a year to actually go through with it. Once she did, she became the last of thirteen contestants selected for Cycle 5.
She didn’t last the whole season — she was the eighth contestant eliminated — but she left an impression. Cast members and viewers alike remember her as the most outspoken woman in the house, unafraid to say what she thought to the other models. In interviews since, she’s framed that bluntness as coming from a genuine place: she wanted the people around her to put their best foot forward, especially with national television watching.
Lisa D’Amato in Cycle 17: All-Stars — The Comeback Win
Six years later, D’Amato returned for Cycle 17: All-Stars, a season built entirely around bringing back fourteen non-winning contestants for a second shot at the crown. The judging panel — Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker, and André Leon Talley — presided over a season that pulled contestants from twelve of the show’s sixteen cycles.
D’Amato won. At 30, she became the oldest contestant to ever take the title, beating out runner-up Allison Harvard, who was competing for a second time after losing Cycle 12. It was a full-circle moment for a woman who’d been eliminated from her original season eight spots before the finale.
Lisa D’Amato’s Career After the Crown
Winning didn’t end her time in front of the camera. D’Amato has stayed active across several lanes:
- Modeling — she kept booking work after her win, building on the visibility ANTM gave her.
- Music — she’s released material as a recording artist, a path she’d already been pursuing before her All-Stars win.
- Reality TV and mentorship — she returned to the ANTM franchise in a different role, mentoring contestants during Cycle 18, including a music video challenge episode that aired in April 2012.
Lisa D’Amato and the Tyra Banks Controversy
In recent years, D’Amato has become one of the more vocal former contestants speaking publicly about her time on the show — and specifically about Tyra Banks.
In a 2021 video posted to Instagram, she directly addressed Banks, referencing a moment from her original Cycle 5 run where she says she was removed from a session after asking a personal question instead of a modeling-related one. She described feeling that producers and staff used difficult parts of her past against her repeatedly during filming, and said she’d previously risked a breach-of-contract lawsuit just to speak about it publicly in an earlier interview.
The comments resurfaced — and intensified — around 2025 and 2026, as competing documentary projects about the show’s history began taking shape. D’Amato publicly criticized Banks in especially blunt terms on TMZ Live, accusing her of working behind the scenes on a Netflix project covering the show’s history while distancing herself from any official producer credit. D’Amato claims she has her own project in the works for E!, and that the two projects ended up racing toward release dates just weeks apart.
She’s not alone in raising these concerns. Other former contestants — including Cycle 17 co-star Angelea Preston, who was stripped of an earlier All-Stars win before the season even aired — have also spoken publicly about difficult experiences behind the scenes on the franchise.
Lisa D’Amato’s Personal Life
D’Amato was married to Adam Friedman from 2012 to 2023. The couple has two children together.
Where Is Lisa D’Amato Now?
As of 2026, D’Amato remains a visible figure in the ongoing public conversation around America’s Next Top Model‘s legacy. She’s positioned herself as one of the contestants willing to speak candidly about what she says happened off-camera, and she’s connected to upcoming documentary coverage examining the show’s history from the contestants’ point of view.
Conclusion: Lisa D’Amato’s Legacy
Lisa D’Amato’s story doesn’t fit the usual reality TV arc. She was written off early in Cycle 5, came back six years later, and claimed the title at an age most contestants had already aged out of the show. That win alone would make her a memorable name in America’s Next Top Model history.
But her willingness to speak openly about her experience — long after the cameras stopped rolling — is what’s kept her relevant. As new documentaries dig into what really happened behind the scenes of the franchise, Lisa D’Amato has positioned herself as one of the most direct voices in that conversation. Whether she’s remembered as the All-Stars champion or as the contestant who pushed back hardest against the show that made her famous, her place in ANTM history is secure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Lisa D’Amato win America’s Next Top Model? Yes. After being eliminated eighth in Cycle 5, she returned for Cycle 17: All-Stars and won, becoming the oldest winner in the show’s history at age 30.
What has Lisa D’Amato said about Tyra Banks? She has publicly accused Banks and the show’s producers of using personal, painful details from her past against her during filming, and has been openly critical of Banks in more recent interviews tied to new documentary projects about the show.
Is Lisa D’Amato married? She was married to Adam Friedman from 2012 to 2023. They have two children.
What does Lisa D’Amato do now? Beyond modeling and music, she’s remained connected to the ANTM franchise — including a mentoring role in a later cycle — and continues to speak publicly about her experience on the show.
