NYC NOW Harlem Native Ebony Haith Reflects on Life After ‘America’s Next Top Model’
Mar 6, 2026
Ebony Haith, a Harlem-born model, performer and actress who appeared on cycle one of America’s Next Top Model, reflects on her journey. She recounts growing up in her grandmother’s salon, confronting racial bias in agencies, and the show’s controversial makeovers. She also discusses being publicly out on TV and her creative plans, including a one-woman show.
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From Harlem Salon To Runway Discovery
- Ebony Haith grew up in her grandmother's Harlem beauty salon and moved into makeup artistry after MAC hired her as a freelance makeup artist.
- That salon upbringing led to sudden runway opportunities and a rapid shift from thinking about hair to being pushed into modeling at about age 20.
Agencies Praised Yet Rejected Her
- Ebony found agencies admired her look but wouldn't sign her, revealing gatekeeping rather than lack of talent.
- Repeated public auditions felt like spectacle that signaled her exclusion was about race and market fit, not ability.
Representation Without Cultural Care
- Ebony says America's Next Top Model aimed to increase representation but the show's production still mishandled cultural needs.
- She notes the show aged poorly yet also insists contestants weren't naive; problems were structural and visible in 2003.