Eva Marcille was one of the most notable America’s Next Top Model contestants missing from Netflix’s 2026 documentary series Reality Check.
Marcille’s fiery personality and undeniable charisma earned her the nickname “Eva the Diva” during the third cycle of ANTM, which she won in July 2004. After winning a Ford modeling contract on the reality show, Marcille was actually managed personally by Tyra Banks and Benny Medina early in her career.
The model eventually transitioned from modeling primarily into an acting career with roles on The Young and the Restless, All the Queen’s Men and Tyler Perry‘s House of Payne. Marcille also had a memorable return to reality TV on The Real Housewives of Atlanta but she has never forgotten her big break on ANTM.
“Tyra created this show to give a platform, a voice, and a visual to beautiful people — women and then men alike that would not normally get any kind of attention because of the standards of beauty,” Marcille said in 2021.
Netflix will explore the most controversial moments from groundbreaking reality competition America’s Next Top Model in its new documentary Reality Check. The three-part docuseries from American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan pulls no punches as it examines the way America’s Next Top Model changed the fashion industry — for better […]
Keep scrolling to find out more about Marcille’s time on America’s Next Top Model and where she stands with Banks today.
Is Eva Marcille Interviewed in Netflix’s ‘Reality Check’ Documentary?
No, Eva Marcille did not give an interview for Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
Archival footage from her ANTM season is included in the docuseries, with Tyra Banks also name-checking “Eva the Diva” as one of the most recognizable personalities from America’s Next Top Model in her own interview.
When Was Eva Marcille on ‘America’s Next Top Model’?
Eva Marcille — then known by her birth name Eva Pigford — auditioned for America’s Next Top Model cycle 3 in 2004. Her audition segment was introduced by judge J. Alexander saying that he was looking for “a girl who can come in and deliver.”
Eva made an immediate impression on Alexander and fellow judges Tyra Banks and Jay Manuel by strutting into the audition room and whipping off her sunglasses.
“I don’t compare myself to other girls,” she boasted. “I’m Eva. I’m no comparison to anyone else.”
Banks immediately put Marcille in the hot seat when she revealed that “about 80 percent of the girls that come in here [to audition] have something negative to say about you.”
“A lot of these women are ultra sensitive,” Marcille fired back.
Eva Marcille and Tyra Banks in December 2004. Matthew Simmons/Getty Images
Asked by Banks if she felt “a need to be nasty,” Marcille quipped, “I’m not nasty and I’m not negative … Instead of me being fake and acting like I like you … I’m gonna act exactly how I feel!”
Marcille quickly earned the nickname “Eva the Diva” on ANTM and, though she clashed with other contestants, she excelled in the challenges. Banks announced Marcille as the winner of America’s Next Top Model cycle 3 over Yaya DaCosta in December 2004.
“This is so unreal,” a tearful Marcille told Banks after winning. “Oh my god! Beautiful? A model? Me? … I’m a covergirl! This little tomboy from L.A. that has never been beautiful. I was not the cute girl in school. … [I came in here as] the one who had the most insecurities inside of them. Now, I’m America’s Next Top Model and I get to represent all those little girls who feel the way I feel.”
Banks was so impressed with Marcille that she worked with Benny Medina to personally manage the ANTM winner’s career early on. Multiple media outlets reported in November 2006 that Marcille had parted with her management team, including Banks.
What Has Eva Marcille Said About Her Relationship With Tyra Banks?
Even after dismissing Tyra Banks as her manager in 2006, Eva Marcille has maintained a close friendship with her America’s Next Top Model mentor over the years.
Speaking to Essence in 2020, Marcille described Banks as “the epitome of a beautiful [and a] very smart girl.”
“[Tyra is] a special human being. I think that you are amazing,” she added. “I think that your life’s work has been impeccable. I think you have a zillion more years to live, but the ones that you’ve lived thus far have been with grace and with dignity. You are inspiring and aspirational.”
Marcille has also frequently come to Banks’ defense when Top Model faced controversy. Her most notable defense of Banks came after fellow ANTM contestant Winnie Harlow said the show did not help her modeling career.
“To diss Tyra … who gave everyone this huge platform, I think it’s really whack,” Marcille said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2018.
Netflix’s America’s Next Top Model docuseries revealed where Tyra Banks stands with many former contestants after they offered their unfiltered opinions of the show. Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, streaming now, features interviews from alums Whitney Thompson, Giselle Samson, Shannon Stewart, Shandi Sullivan, Danielle Evans and Keenyah Hill. New confessionals with executive producer […]
America’s Next Top Model reached a whole new audience during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus sparking a social media debate about some divisive elements of the show. (Frequent criticism of ANTM has revolved around cultural appropriation in challenges and too much focus on weight.)
“Leave Tyra alone. Tyra Banks, Tyra Lynne Banks is my girl. No good deed goes unpunished,” Banks demanded on the “Behind The Velvet Rope” podcast in 2022. “Think about it. She created a show to give a platform to people that would never have an opportunity in this space. This [show] wasn’t 5’10 models she could get off the street who could get any agent. These were people who needed grooming and help. And she did that!”
During an interview with the Associated Press in December 2024, Marcille hit back at accusations that Banks and her fellow ANTM judges were “politically incorrect” or “insensitive” back in the day.
Eva Marcille in January 2026. Paras Griffin/Getty Images
“At the time, I bona fide believe that no one was trying to be insensitive,” she insisted. “They were actually trying to be inclusive and funny at the same time.”
Marcille suggested it was unfair to “measure” content from the early 2000s in the same way we look at current shows.
“Tyra Banks set out to do one thing, which was to show beauty in a different light,” the ANTM winner stressed. “We forget that Tyra is not Jesus. She is a woman. To err is to be human. Every intention she had was pure.”
What Has Tyra Banks Said About Her Relationship With Eva Marcille?
Tyra Banks has been very supportive of Eva Marcille’s success as a model, actress and reality star over the years. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2018, Banks celebrated Marcille’s hiring for The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 10.
“I am so proud of her,” Banks told host Andy Cohen. “She came from cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model … she has held her own and is doing her thing!”
Banks joked that “Eva the Diva” was a perfect fit for the Real Housewives franchise. (Marcille was on The Real Housewives of Atlanta from season 10 through 12 and later appeared on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.)
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“I know what she can do that you have all not seen,” Banks teased. “You guys are very much going to enjoy her!”
Banks and Marcille appeared together on Watch What Happens Live in 2020, where they threw back to ANTM by showing off some of their best smizes.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is streaming now on Netflix.
