Nyle DiMarco is world’s most famous deaf person now, Tyra Banks says
Tyra Banks has nothing but good words about “America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 22 winner Nyle DiMarco, 26. The “Switched at Birth” actor was the first and only deaf model to join and win the modelling competition show created by Banks.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Banks noted that what DiMarco is doing for the deaf community and the hearing community is revolutionary. She added that the “ANTM” Cycle 22 winner is “now the most famous deaf person in the world.”
For Banks, DiMarco is “an amazing model” who showed beautiful empathy when he was dealing with all of his fellow models in the “ANTM” house. She added that he is beautiful both on the inside and on the outside and his pictures gave her “chills.”
As the first ever deaf “ANTM” winner, DiMarco teamed up with The ASL App to make American Sign Language easy to learn, especially for hearing individuals. The deaf actor and model was proud to announce that they just did 150,000 downloads of the app.
In October, Banks announced that “ANTM” Cycle 22 would be the final cycle of her modelling competition show. She explained that she tends to “like to do things and leave when on top” like when she left the runway before it left her when she was a supermodel.
In another interview with Entertainment Weekly, Banks was asked if she has a favorite “ANTM” contestant. Instead of actresses Yaya DaCosta and Analeight Tipton, the former supermodel mentioned contestants who did not fit the definition of a typical model and those who had special conditions.
The first name Banks mentioned was “ANTM” Cycle 10 winner Whitney Thompson and the last name she mentioned was “ANTM” Cycle 7 winner CariDee English. Thompson was the first ever plus-size “ANTM” winner while English is a National Psoriasis Foundation spokesperson.
Banks said she is also proud of “ANTM” alums Amanda Swafford, who had retinitis pigmentosa, Heather Kuzmich, who had autism, Tahlia Brookins, who was burned as an infant, and Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, who had lupus. She added that the list “goes on and on.”
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