All three permanent judges from the previous cycle, Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley, photographer Nigel Barker and Tyra Banks, remained in place.

[2] (Ages stated are at start of contest)[3] 32 semi-finalists arrived in Los Angeles, California to begin the fifteenth cycle.

The girls were split into categories as defined by the fashion industry – "quirky," "sexy," "strong bone structure," "browns," "blonds" and "brunettes" – and were tasked to stand out from their competition.

Later, the interviews commenced, and the group was pared down to 20 who moved on to a Cynthia Rowley garden party where they were paired up for a photo shoot.

Amongst the first few conversations in the house, Ann's awkwardness raised eyebrows, Anamaria admitted to taking a carbohydrate-restricted diet in order to remain thin, and Kayla revealed she was a lesbian.

Afterwards, they were taken to the Hollywood and Highland Center, and were tasked to walk in a Diane von Furstenberg runway that is hoisted 4 stories in the air; they also had to do their own hair and makeup.

Kacey faced some trouble when she was unable to see the end of the runway because of her myopia, but put on a strong performance nevertheless; and Anamaria fell on her way backstage.

At the photo shoot, Ann, Kayla and Chelsey were lauded for their performance, while Sara and Terra were criticized for looking plain and nervous respectively.

Ann, Kayla, Chelsey and Lexie's pictures received universal praise, and while Kendal's photo was deemed as not doing justice to her beauty, Diane would still hire her in an instant.

This week's photo shoot took place on the beaches of Malibu, where the girls posed as fallen angels while evoking different kinds of emotions.

The next day, the girls arrived at Knott's Berry Farm for their first reward challenge – they evoked an emotion while riding the park's, Silver Bullet roller coaster.

This week's photo shoot required the girls to portray underwater goddesses while modeling sea creatures, jewelry from Martin Katz, Neil Lane and Mikimoto.

Jay was very impressed by Esther who brought emotion and her beauty to the shot, but very annoyed with Liz who kept complaining about her makeup sticking to her contact lenses.

J. led the girls into 2nd Street Tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles where they were challenged to walk on a conveyor belt runway while wearing designs by Hervé Leger.

Andre and supermodel Karolína Kurková dropped by the house, and Karolina taught the girls about personality and watchful eating.

They were joined by male models as they strutted down Rodeo Drive while posing in clothing hand-picked for them by fashion stylist Lori Goldstein.

At panel, while Kendal and Jane received tremendous praise, but it was Ann, whose all three photos were again deemed the best, making a record of five consecutive first call-outs.

Kayla's move in air photo (which she blamed on the discomfort caused by her undersized shoes) landed her in the bottom two, but it was Kacey, despite being deemed by the judges as having a great runway walk and spokesperson ability, who was eliminated for producing consistently lackluster photographs.

The girls arrived at the Grammy Museum, where they meet Neil Portnow, CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Instead of a photo shoot, the girls were filming their first commercial for a fictitious H2T energy drink while riding roller skates with Nigel as their director.

In particular, Ann fell numerous times while Kayla struggled feeling intimate around her male model due to a sexual assault that occurred during her childhood.

This week’s photo shoot took place in the Grand Canal, with the girls posing in period couture gowns while lounging on a gondola by a group of three.

At judging, Chelsey and Liz nearly passed out due to the Italian summer heat, prompting Tyra to allow the contestants to sit down during the photo evaluations.

Chris landed in the bottom two because her vivacious personality did not match up to the photographs she took, but the judges once again cited Liz’s "excuses" and she was eliminated.

Franca was impressed by Ann’s pictures, but ultimately chose Chelsey to win the prize of a private viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper with André Leon Talley, as well as an overnight stay at a seven star Milan hotel called the Town House Galleria, which she shared with Kayla.

After a very hard deliberation, Ann, for her super strong portfolio, ability to learn and great work on set, created an all-time high record after receiving her sixth collective first call-out of the cycle, leaving Chelsey, Jane and Kayla in the bottom three.

After the shoot, their families made a surprise appearance, where it was revealed that they would be sitting at the front row during their final fashion show.

For their voice-overs, Chelsey's natural smile was universally praised but the judges thought she was an actress more than a model; Ann's voice was castigated but she looked stunning in the commercial.