ANTM Series2: Amanda Swafford Gone Completely Blind

Amanda Lynn Swafford
30th October 1978

3rd place in Cycle 3
America Next Top Model

Look at her blue crystal eyes
The most beautiful things on her
And also her biggest enemy in her life

Amanda suffered from retinitis pigmentosa
and she gone completely blind on the age of 30

Swafford's family relocated to Plano, Texas during her childhood years. She was a track and field athlete at Plano East Senior High School in 1997. In 2000, she graduated from Austin Community College, Rio Grande.

Before appearing on America's Next Top Model, Swafford modeled under the name "Amanda Mellard" in Austin, Texas, where she was a somewhat established figure in Austin's fashion community. After appearing on America's Next Top Model, Swafford modeled for Levi's in an ad campaign with other visually impaired models. In 2005, Swafford announced plans to write a multi-sensory book for children.

When Amanda tried out for the Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model, the judges all noted that her most stunning feature was her ice-blue eyes. However, her eyes could also be considered a liability as she is legally blind; retinitis pigmentosa causes deterioration in the rod pigments of the eyes, severely limiting the ability to see in low-light conditions, which could make walking down a runway surrounded by darkness extremely dangerous. But that did not stop her from wanting to participate as a cast member on the show and she was called 10th during casting.

The judges were amazed by her photos, especially the un-retouched beauty shot that she took during the third week of the competition. Even when participating in a fashion show under low-light conditions, she was able to successfully navigate the runway without a misstep due to the glitter and glowing paint scheme allowing her to be able to see the runway's path and edges. She was never once criticized by the judges for being too old for the competition despite her being 25 years old at the time.

When she went on her go sees in Japan, however, she was told that she was too old by one of the designers. She participated in the finale along with winner Eva Pigford and Yaya Da Costa, but Amanda was eliminated when she and Eva were in the bottom 2. The judges had a difficult time deciding who to send home, as all 3 contestants had strong CoverGirl photos, and all 3 were considered strong contenders, but in the end, it was Swafford. One of the judges, Janice Dickinson was a dissenting voice on the judging panel, saying, "I love you!" to Swafford when she was eliminated. She was recently voted as one of the most memorable contestants by AOL entertainment.

Amanda has appeared on the covers of Bliss for Bride Magazine and Access Magazine, and has modelled for Levi's Jeans, Felt It! Stitch It! Fabulous! and WEBS. She signed with Storm Model Management and went to New York to model.