‘America’s Next Top Model’ Cycle 24 Age Limit Removed By Tyra Banks

The 24th cycle of “America’s Next Top Model” will no longer have an age limit.

On Saturday, host, judge and producer Tyra Banks has finally responded to what aspiring contestants have asked her for the past 23 cycles via her Twitter account. Banks said that the usual age limit of 27 years old has been removed. Starting Cycle 24, aspiring models, regardless of their age, may audition to be part of the hit reality TV competition.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Banks’ announcement also confirms her return to the show. In Cycle 23, Banks was temporarily replaced by Rita Ora when she went on a short break from the competition she started in 2003.

Read: Tyra Banks teases “America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 24 on Instagram

Other than the removal of age limit, “America’s Next Top Model” has also experienced major changes over its 14-year run. In the past, models with heights below 5 feet and 7 inches were allowed to audition despite this being the standard height requirement among models in the United States. Several episodes also featured male contestants, which did not happen on the show for the first 19 seasons.

While speaking with the same publication last month, Banks explained why the show has gone through so many changes and improvements over the years. “In putting these girls on the show and saying, ‘You are beautiful,’ I wasn’t necessarily telling them they were beautiful; I was using them as a vessel to tell millions of girls around the world who looked like them that they are beautiful. This has always been a passion of mine. It’s so nice to see it’s normalizing. I guess ‘Top Model’ has normalized what difference is in beauty,” she said.

In other news, Banks will also be hosting a different program starting this spring. The supermodel recently replaced Nick Cannon as the host of “America’s Got Talent” Season 12 on NBC.