Tyra created and executive produces the longest-running, competition-based reality television series, America’s Next Top Model. ANTM premiered in May 2003 and currently airs in 140 countries and had 40 international versions worldwide, spanning from Germany to Latin America, China to Africa, from Scandinavia to Russia, Australia and beyond. In India there are two Top Model versions (one in Hindi and one in English) with two different casts and hosts. In fact, Top Model is so popular in Asia that, not only are there formatted local versions in Vietnam, China, South Korea, Indonesia, etc, there is also a continent-wide version of the show: Asia’s Next Top Model! Stateside, viewers have experienced 24 Cycles of America’s Next Top Model. Many believe Tyra Banks created a show about models to demonstrate how difficult, yet exciting the vocation of modeling is. But the use of models was merely a vessel, a smokescreen that obscured the true objective: to challenge societal norms and the narrow confines of what constitutes “beautiful”. Inspired by the pain, rejection, and intense pressures Tyra experienced as a young black, and later curvy, model to fit into a narrow mold of beauty, she created America’s Next Top Model. Tyra also casted many atypical looking girls to speak to females worldwide and show them that cookie-cutter beauty is pretty boring. Unique beauty, with all of its imperfections, is the most exciting beauty of all.