32 semi-finalists arrived in Los Angeles, California to begin the fifteenth cycle. Contestants included sisters Chris and Terra – the first sibling contestants since Amanda and Michelle (cycle 7). Kacey, who had been a semi-finalist from cycle 11, and Vanessa Johnston, Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2009. Some notable participants shortly after the episode began. The girls met Mr. & Ms. J in Palm Springs; later, they met Tyra. Their first challenge was a runway walk modeling clothes from Cynthia Rowley. 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. Tensions rose when Kacey instigated Lexie to verbalize Jordan's supposed lack of desire for the competition, when it was in fact, just a misunderstanding, causing Lexie to be deemed malicious by some of the girls. Also, Emily was questionably accused of being a racist. 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. Later that night, the final 14 girls were chosen.

• Special guest: Cynthia Rowley

The chosen 14 girls arrived at Venice Beach, California, where they met Venice Beach icon Harry Perry, who passed them the keys to their new loft. 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. This week's photo shoot takes place at Smashbox Studios, themed on "Teen Bullying." Tyra and singer/actress Demi Lovato dropped by at the shoot to offer advice and raise awareness. Each girl was drawn with a word that hurt her the most as a victim of bullying, as well as a "power word" that made her overcome it.

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. Anamaria on the other hand was castigated for her overt thinness showing on film, which she ignored. At panel, Diane von Fürstenberg sat in as the guest judge. 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. In the end, Terra landed in the bottom two, but it was Anamaria's lack of regard for how thin she was that got her eliminated.

• Featured photographer: Deborah Anderson
• Special guests: Demi Lovato, Diane von Fürstenberg, Harry Perry, Isaac Prado, Anita Patrickson, Marky Andrews, Damien Carney

Tyra dropped by at the house and informed the girls that they would receive makeovers. Tyra also giving some clues for the girls and which makeovers they will have, such as: Kayla will be given a new look that is fire like, Kendal will given "more sensuality and sexuality," Sara is getting darker than she is, both of Ann and Rhianna will given a look that make their edgy and quirky look more sophisticated, while Chris will given something that "flows her up." Panic ran through the house when Liz found a list of fantasy makeovers created by Ann, Lexie and Rhianna and assumed the credulous makeovers as genuine. However, their excitement quickly faded when they are told that whoever performed the worst at the post-makeover shoot would be eliminated. A large majority of girls were satisfied by their new looks, except Liz and Terra, who were both averse to having a shorter hairstyle. Sara and Lexie struggled at the makeover shoot, but Terra was deemed the worst and was sent home.

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. At panel, Patricia Field sat as the guest judge. A large majority of the photos receive mixed to negative critiques, with only Ann, Kayla, Chelsey and Chris photos standing out. Sara and Lexie landed in the bottom two for having the most unsatisfactory photos. Tyra cited Sara's inability to translate her beauty in photos (despite a drastic makeover) for her elimination.

• Featured photographers: Keith Major (makeovers), Anne Menke (photoshoot)
• Special guests: Patricia Field, Matthew Preece, Edgardo Falcon Jr., Ryan Stybel, Michael Kanyon, Marco Berardini

Kacey invited the male models from the previous photo shoot over for dinner. 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. Most of the girls struggled, most notably Chris, who was petrified by the ride.

Liz was deemed the best and she won a feature on Tyra.com, photographed by Tyra herself. She chose Chris and Kayla to accompany her, and all three were surprised by a tea party with Tyra. Back at the house, the girls ganged up on Kacey because of the latter's inability to clean up her own kitchen mess and pretentious demeanor. 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. Rhianna was castigated because her "flower-child" posing style do not fit well with the concept of the shoot. At panel, Ann's photo blew away again the judges. Kendal, Esther, Kacey, Chris, and Kayla also shone in their pictures. Lexie was cautioned not to rely on having profile shots. Rhianna's lack of versatility and Liz's constant complaining landed them in the bottom two. In the end, Tyra handed the last photo to Liz, sending Rhianna home.

• Featured photographer: Matthew Rolston
• Special guests: Valente Frazier, Julie Matos, Troy Jensen, Michael Kanyon

Miss. 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. While a majority of the girls stumbled through the catwalk, Kacey was deemed the best, and was awarded Lisa Freede jewelry. Andre and supermodel Karolína Kurková dropped by the house, and Karolina taught the girls about personality and watchful eating. Back at the house, Kacey again clashed with Lexie and Liz. This week's photo shoot had the girls pose with Lucha libre wrestlers. At judging, Ann admitted that she struggled in her photo shoot, but the judges nevertheless loved her photograph, and she was called first for the fourth successive time. Jane landed in the bottom two for her apparent lack of presence, which the judges felt the kept her photos satisfactory, while Lexie was lambasted for her stifled posing, resulting in mediocre photos. Despite a vivacious personality, Lexie was sent home.

• Featured photographers: Eddie Brakha, Moshe Brakha ("Brakha Squared")
• Special guests: Karolína Kurková, Robert Steinken, Sunnie Brook Jones, Charlie Altuna, Jany Stanley

The girls were split into threes for a CoverGirl challenge at Walmart, where Esther, Kacey and Kayla had the overall best sales pitch; Kacey received the most votes from the public while Ann had the lowest. The trio won a shopping spree at Walmart's CoverGirl aisle, but Esther won an additional US$1,000 Walmart gift card for having the best makeup look. The girls went to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills for this week's photo shoot with photographer Patrick Demarchelier. 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. The shoot was divided in three parts – a group shot with a man, a moving shot and solo beauty shot, leaving Chris to do solo.

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.

• Featured photographer: Patrick Demarchelier
• Special guests: Lori Goldstein, Derek Blasberg, Molly Stern

The girls arrived at the Grammy Museum, where they meet Neil Portnow, CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. They split into four teams of two and were tasked to create a Grammy worthy look for their partner.

Ann gave Chelsey a severely oversized dress, much to the latter's chagrin, while Kendal's dress for Chris was likened to that from a strip, and Kayla went against Liz' desire for a fancy gown and instead got her sequined pants. Nonetheless, Mr. Jay deemed Kayla and Liz the best and they won the challenge, but Neil ultimately picked Kayla to win the reward of being a presenter at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in February 2011.

This week's photo shoot required the girls to portray notable celebrated fashion designers. At panel, Liz' portrayal was deemed the best, thus breaking Ann's five consecutive first call-outs. Kendal's shoot was deemed weak, while Esther failed to bring enough masculinity in her portrayal of a man, and they both landed in the bottom two. Although the judges felt that Kendal had a more unique look for the industry, they also felt that she needed more experience and development, thus sending her home.

• Featured photographer: Francesco Carrozzini
• Special guests: Neil Portnow, Rushka Bergman, Amy Orseman, Johnny Stuntz

Miss. J made a surprise visit at the house, where he brought along famed fashion designer Zac Posen. Zac informed the girls that they will be in his Fall 2010 Z-Spoke collection fashion show. The girls' professionalism were challenged when few of the working models they worked with constantly tried to break their confidence. After the show, it was revealed that the brutish demeanor that the other models had shown was an additional test. Chelsey was selected as the winner, and she won five looks from the collection.

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. Most of the girls struggled. 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. Liz frustrated Nigel for failing to take the shoot seriously and laughing whenever she stumbled. At panel, Chris's confident performance won her a clear first call-out. All the other girls struggled to some degree, although Jane and Chelsey are told they improved as the shoot went on. Ann and Esther were deemed the worst, but Ann was saved on the sheer strength of her photos, eliminating Esther.

• Featured commercial director: Nigel Barker
• Special guests: Zac Posen, Johnny Stuntz, Joanna Konjevod, Amanda Fields^[10]

Miss J. brought the girls cycling to Venice, where they met Tyra sitting on a gondola. Tyra informed them that they would be traveling to the namesake city in Italy for the remainder of the competition. 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.

Ann struggled to find her sexiness, while Chris and Liz struggled with numerous awkward actions and scenes. After the shoot was prematurely ended because of the rain, Jay announced that the girls would be headed to Milan for the rest of the competition. The girls were surprised about how their house was not as lavish as per previous seasons. Tyra arrived and explained that this was done intentionally to give the girls a taste of how new models actually lived. The next day, the girls visited the Missoni Fashion House in Milan and walked for CEO Angela Missoni as well as her daughter and heiress to the fashion line, Margherita, in their Fall collection. 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. Kayla received universal praise, Jane received praise for pushing through even with her hair in her face, while the rest all received mixed reviews. 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.

• Featured photographer: Simone Falcetta
• Special guests: Margherita Missoni, Angela Missoni, Lidia Permunian, Fabio D'Onofrio, Mario D'Amico, Alessandro Possati

Before sending the girls to the streets of Milan for go-sees, Tyra helped them organize their portfolios. Amongst their four appointments was Versace – and all the girls naturally headed there first. After the four visited Versace, Chelsey decided to separate from the others, while Chris injured her ankle on the way back. Everybody only managed to visit one go-see, except for Chelsey for visited two. Jane, Chris and Chelsey all managed to get back in time. Ann managed to get back just a few minutes after the time ends, while Kayla really lost and ended up late several hours. Ann was the only one who booked Versace, but Chelsey won the challenge for visited two go-sees and came back in time. This week's photo shoot took place at Lake Como, where the girls were to portray statues that came to life. Ann, Chelsey and Kayla all performed well, while Chris’s ankle injury caused her some pain, and Jane struggled to be passionate with her male model, causing her to break down. IMG Models executive manager Kyle Hagler is this week's guest judge. While receiving critique, Jane again became emotional about her being unable to show her personality in front of them. Before deliberations, Tyra castigated all the girls for doing poorly at their go-sees. Jane's consistent lack of presence and Chris's lack of high fashion ability landed them in the bottom two. However, Jane’s meltdown during the photo shoot and at panel made the judges see a crack of her personality, and Chris was eliminated.

• Featured photographer: Nigel Barker
• Special guests: Kyle Hagler, Giovanni Di Corrinto, Andrea Cairo, Angelo Azzena, Danilo Di Pasquale, Vincenzo Cavicchi, Simone Bredariol

The girls met Miss J. and acting coach Barbara Terrinoni, who taught them about acting and emoting. Later, their personalities and confidence were put to the test when they met one-on-one with Vogue Italia's editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani. 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. The girls arrived in Verona, where Jay informed them that two of them will be eliminated at the next panel. Tyra directed the girls during a motion editorial challenge that requires them to bring their poses to life with movement and emotion.

At panel, Franca sat as the guest judge. Jane received the highest praise by the judges, praised for embraced her wild and dark side through the motion editorial and seemed to has mastered her angles. Ann and Chelsey also received good reviews, Ann was praised for looked the sexiest she ever has on the show and Chelsey was recommended for her strong presence, but the judges criticized the former for her lack of charisma in front of the camera and the latter for consistently did the same expression every frames. Kayla, on the other hand, received the most critique of the week, severely criticized for hasn't mastered her angles yet even after so many weeks on the competition, her lack of presence, and the judges curious that she only can translate her beauty features on photos. 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. Chelsey was noted for her passion in modeling, but her photos was never the best. Kayla was praised for her strong portfolio, but criticized for performing the worst and she hasn't mastered her angles yet weeks after weeks, and Jane was strongly warned by Tyra for her lack of presence in front of the judges, despite having improved greatly for the past weeks and has the best motion editorial work of the week. Tyra handed Chelsey the final photo, thus eliminating both Jane and Kayla. After the credits, Tyra premiered her directorial debut of Modelli Folli (“Model Madness”).

• Featured director: Tyra Banks
• Special guests: Franca Sozzani, Barbara Terrinoni, Valentina Serra, Francesca Berardi

Ann and Chelsey were sent to do their Vogue Italia cover shots, where the photographer lauded them both. They arrived at Orta San Giulio and were sent to shoot their CoverGirl commercial, where instead of memorizing lines, they were instructed to do voice-overs. 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. The next day, the final two met IMG Models executive Ivan Bart, where Ivan was pleased with Chelsey's personality and modeling experience, while Ann was advised to work on her personality, though her photos impressed. Ann and Chelsey were joined by cycle 14 winner Krista White and eliminated girls Chris, Kayla, Jane and Liz as they walked for Roberto Cavalli's Just Cavalli line.

At panel, Jay Manuel and Roberto Cavalli sat as guest judges. Chelsey's walk was deemed focused but stiff, while Ann's was much improved but was chastised for her "scared" facial expressions. 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. Chelsey's CoverGirl ad was unanimously deemed beautiful, although it may have been too pretty for a makeup ad, although her ease during the shoot itself was praised. Though Ann's photo was deemed beautiful, it was chastised for being too editorial, which made the judges worry if she could do commercial modelling. During deliberations, the judges were torn over the "breakout star" Ann and her rare high fashion look, and "professional model" Chelsey's all-American girl-next-door persona, as well as her immense knowledge of the fashion industry. Ann was named the winner of America's Next Top Model.

• Featured photographers: Vincent Peters, Federico De Angelis
• Special guests: Valentina Serra, Roberto Cavalli, Ivan Bart, Krista White