Ultimate Guide to Top Model Agencies for Aspiring Fashion Models

New York has been the center of the American modeling business since Eileen and Jerry Ford started booking models there after World War II¹. Ford, Wilhelmina, Elite, IMG and Next, the five best-known names in this guide, all have New York offices, and four of them also run offices in Los Angeles and Miami.

Quick Summary

The best-known modeling agencies in the US are Ford Models (started in New York in 1946), Wilhelmina (1967), Elite (Paris 1972, New York 1977), IMG Models (1987) and Next (1989)¹,⁶,⁸,⁹,¹⁰,¹¹. All five have New York offices, and Ford, Wilhelmina, Elite and Next also list Los Angeles and Miami⁶,⁹,¹⁵,¹⁶,¹⁷. ONE Management, Select, BMG Models and Stewart Talent run offices in several US cities, including Chicago²¹,²²,³⁶,³⁹. A legitimate agency earns commission when you are paid and never charges you to sign². California and Florida require talent agencies, including those that book models, to be licensed and bonded³⁰,³¹,³²,⁴³, and New York's Fashion Workers Act, in effect from June 19, 2025, bans signing fees, caps commission at 20% and limits contracts to three years¹⁸. Models have taken the biggest New York agencies to court over commissions and pay, and the FTC and state prosecutors have acted against companies that sold photo shoots and classes to hopefuls while presenting themselves as agencies²³,⁴⁸,⁵⁰,⁵²,⁵⁵.

This guide lists the agencies by city and checks each detail against the agency's own website, its public filings or trade press as of June 2025. It also explains how agencies make money, what California, Florida and New York law require of them, what happened when models took the biggest agencies to court, and how to spot the scams that target aspiring models, using the Federal Trade Commission's consumer guidance and the enforcement record².

Keep one rule in mind throughout. The FTC puts it simply: modeling and talent agencies "get paid when you get paid"².

What Makes a Top Model Agency

There is no official ranking of modeling agencies. The best-known US agencies share a long track record, offices in the cities where fashion and advertising work is booked, a large roster split into specialist boards, and a business that earns its money from the work it books. The sections below take those qualities one at a time and show what each looks like in the agencies' own records.

Industry Recognition and Legacy

In the 1940s the big New York agencies included those of John Robert Powers and Harry Conover³. Eileen Ford modeled for Conover during summer breaks from Barnard College, according to The New York Times³. In 1946, pregnant with her first child, she began taking bookings for two model friends from home. "I started to take bookings from home, to make money to take care of the baby," she later told the Hamilton Spectator, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times⁴. By 1948 her roster had grown to more than 30 models⁴.

Accounts of the exact start date differ. CNN and the Times' 2008 obituary of Jerry Ford date the agency to 1946¹,⁵, while the Times' 2014 obituary of Eileen Ford says Ford Models "was born in 1947," starting out in her parents' home, and moved into an office on Second Avenue in 1948³. What the accounts agree on is what the Fords changed. Jerry Ford ran the operations and introduced a voucher system that paid models in advance, then recouped the fees from clients. Before then, the Times reported, models often waited a year or more to be paid³. He also set a five-day workweek, and every Friday models were paid their fees "less Ford's 10 percent cut, whether the clients had paid the agency or not"⁵.

The model Carmen Dell'Orefice, who worked with Ford for 60 years, told the Times: "Before Jerry came along, there were only robber barons who were out there running modeling schools"⁵. In 1956, Jerry Ford said the agency was interviewing as many as 5,000 models a year and accepting only about 15⁵. In 1974 he negotiated what the Times described as the first exclusive brand contract of its kind, for Lauren Hutton to represent Revlon⁵.

Wilhelmina Cooper, one of the most photographed American models of her era, founded Wilhelmina Models in 1967⁶. Time magazine's 1980 obituary notice described her as the Dutch-born daughter of a Chicago butcher who "parlayed a career as one of the nation's most photographed beauties into a second triumph as head of one of the top New York model agencies." She died of cancer that year at 40⁷.

John Casablancas founded Elite in Paris in 1972 with Alain Kittler, a classmate from the Swiss boarding school Le Rosey⁸, and opened Elite New York in 1977⁹. Elite's own history says his arrival set off what the press called the "great model wars" between the "Big 3" agencies: Ford, Wilhelmina and Elite⁹. The Los Angeles Times reported that Christie Brinkley briefly moved from Ford to Elite before returning, and that Ford sued Elite when it opened in New York⁴. According to the Times, Ford and Wilhelmina sued Elite for $10 million shortly after it opened in New York, but the cases were unsuccessful and "resulted only in more publicity" for Casablancas⁸. The Times also reported that Jerry Ford called Casablancas's methods "sleazy," and that Elite went on to book more than $100 million a year in model work while Casablancas ran it⁸. Wilhelmina Cooper described the shift in 1978: "She is now picking or choosing who she wants to work for, instead of just taking what her agency tells her to"⁸. Casablancas also created a scouting contest in 1983, first called The Look of the Year and later Elite Model Look⁹. Ford answered the competition by opening offices around the world, adding divisions for plus-size models, older models, children and catalog work, and launching its own international scouting contest in 1980, which became known as the Ford Supermodel of the World³. It also grew by acquisition: the Los Angeles Times reported that Nina Blanchard sold her namesake agency to Ford in the 1990s. "Eileen was the first to start everything that was helpful to models and their agents," Blanchard told the Hamilton Spectator⁴.

IMG, the sports and talent management company, started IMG Models in 1987 by acquiring the agency Laraine Ashton¹⁰. Faith Kates and Joel Wilkenfeld launched Next in New York in 1989¹¹.

Ownership has changed repeatedly. The Chicago Tribune reported in 1993 that the family of the German businessman Dieter Esch had bought Wilhelmina, then America's third-largest model agency, in 1989 for about $4 million¹². Wilhelmina International, the company that owns the agency today, says it acquired the predecessor companies in 2008¹³. Elite, weakened by the BBC documentary and a class action accusing several agencies of price fixing, sought bankruptcy protection in 2004, and its assets were acquired by Pacific Global Management Group in 2011, the Times reported⁸. The Fords sold their agency in 2007 to the investment firm Stone Tower Equity Partners, later renamed Altpoint Capital Partners³, and in May 2020 WWD reported that the agency had been acquired by Ford Models Brasil and its chief executive, Decio Restelli Ribeiro, after shrinking from more than a dozen offices around the world to four¹⁴.

Global Network and Market Presence

The largest agencies book models in several cities at once. In June 2025, IMG Models' website listed New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Milan and Sydney¹⁵. Next listed New York, London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Los Angeles and Miami¹⁶. Wilhelmina listed New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London⁶, and Ford's site had pages for New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Barcelona¹⁷. Elite New York describes itself as the flagship of Elite's North American network, with satellite offices in Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto⁹.

Wilhelmina's annual report explains why those cities matter. It names New York, Los Angeles and Miami, along with London, Paris and Milan, as "the most important markets for the fashion talent management industry," and notes that most of the leading international firms are headquartered in New York¹³. The same filing counts where the people work: at the end of 2024 Wilhelmina had 89 full-time employees, 46 of them in New York, 21 in Los Angeles, 11 in London and 9 in Miami¹³.

Agencies also extend their reach through partners. Wilhelmina licenses its name to independently owned agencies in local markets in the US and abroad and collects license fees from them, and it says it cooperates with other agencies that represent talent¹³. Several of the larger firms, the filing notes, either run offices in several countries or partner with local and foreign agencies¹³.

Talent Development Infrastructure

Development has always been part of the pitch. The New York Times reported that Eileen Ford let some new models live in her Upper East Side townhouse so she could watch over their careers. "They have to account for their time to me," she told Forbes in 1984. "They eat dinner with me, at table, every night. I don't ever want to tell a mother I don't know where her daughter is at 2 a.m."³. She was also a demanding judge: the Times noted that she "was well known for brusquely dismissing applicants of a sensitive age with stinging rejections"³.

At a large agency today, development is part of the booking job. Wilhelmina's filing says the agents on each board act both as bookers, "promoting models, negotiating fees and contracting work," and as scouts and managers who provide "career and development guidance"¹³. It also says models are represented by a board collectively, not by one agent¹³.

At Wilhelmina, the first costs go on account. The company's financial statements describe advances to models "for the cost of initial portfolios and other out-of-pocket costs," which are "reimbursable only from collections from the Company's clients as a result of future work"¹³. The company also leases model apartments in New York, Miami and London¹³. In New York, the Fashion Workers Act now requires model management companies to spell out any such costs before they are charged and get the model's written approval¹⁸.

For younger applicants, IMG Models says it provides "guidance and support throughout their career, including workshops and resources designed to help young models navigate the industry safely and successfully," and that education remains the top priority¹⁹. California requires licensed talent agencies to give adult models educational materials on nutrition and eating disorders, and on sexual harassment prevention and reporting, within 90 days of signing them. Both rules came from AB 2338 and took effect in 2019²⁰.

Roster Diversity and Specialization

Big agencies divide their rosters into boards. Wilhelmina's filing lists women's, men's, direct (established and commercial models), curve, showroom (live and fit modeling) and fitness boards, all of them running in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and four of them in London too¹³. At the end of 2024 it represented about 1,700 active models and talent¹³.

Other agencies are organized the same way. Next runs men's and women's mainboards and new faces boards, plus divisions for actors, athletes, dancers, musicians, content creators and artists such as stylists and photographers¹⁶. BMG Models' New York office lists mainboard, direct, curve, lifestyle, fitness, youth and new faces boards²¹. ONE Management's New York women's boards in June 2025 were Image, One.1, Development, Curve and Studio²².

Client Relationship Management

An agency's clients are the people who pay. Wilhelmina's filing lists its clients as advertising agencies, consumer brands, fashion designers, websites, retailers, department stores, catalogs and magazines¹³. It divides the work into advertising, catalog and e-commerce, runway, showroom and fit modeling, and editorial, and notes that runway work "primarily take[s] place in Paris, Milan, London and New York City"¹³.

The same filing shows how spread out that client base is. Wilhelmina serves about 3,000 external clients, no single client accounted for more than 1.5% of gross revenues, and its top 100 clients together made up about 39.1% of revenue in 2024¹³.

Financial Stability and Business Operations

Most agencies are private, so Wilhelmina's filings are the clearest public view of the business. The company describes itself as "the only publicly-owned fashion talent management company in the world"¹³. Its main revenue comes from model fees and service charges paid by clients for bookings it negotiates, plus commissions on bookings made by other agencies¹³. In 2024 its service revenues were about $17.6 million, up 2.3% from 2023, which it attributed mainly to "increased commissions from model bookings"¹³. In December 2024 its board voted to delist the shares from Nasdaq, and since February 2025 they have traded on the OTCQX market¹³.

Agencies can also fail. A 2005 New York court decision records that Elite Model Management Corp. had filed for bankruptcy by February 2004, which paused litigation against it²³. Ford's decline from more than a dozen offices to four before its 2020 sale is another example¹⁴.

Marketing and Promotion Capabilities

The supermodel era was a marketing project. The New York Times reported that Casablancas developed his top models as celebrities and media personalities, encouraging Cindy Crawford to broaden her fame in 1988 in ways that led to hosting MTV's "House of Style" and a Pepsi commercial, and that in 1995 she topped the Forbes list of highest-paid models with $6.5 million⁸. Casablancas later had second thoughts. "One of my biggest regrets is that I created the supermodel," he told The Telegraph in 2000, as quoted by the Times⁸.

Agencies now sell talent well beyond print and runway. Next says it launched the first digital influencer management division in 2009¹⁶. Wilhelmina's filing describes social media influencer marketing as a core line of business alongside modeling¹³, and in 2016 it renamed its Los Angeles talent division, LW1, as Aperture, representing models and actors for television and film, endorsements, digital and audio, WWD reported²⁴. The Lions, a New York agency, listed "The Lions Studio," "The Lions Branding" and "Public Relations" on its homepage in January 2025²⁵.

Quality Control and Professional Standards

Standards are increasingly written into law. Under New York's Fashion Workers Act, model management companies must give models copies of final booking agreements and deal memos in the language the model requests, and they may not require a model to sign a power of attorney to be represented¹⁸. They must also have a policy on abuse and harassment and share it with models in writing¹⁸.

Standards have not always held. The New York Times reported that a 1999 BBC undercover documentary showed Elite agents in Europe boasting of drug use and sexual conquests with young models, and that Casablancas, though not implicated, resigned from the agency the next year⁸.

Adaptation to Industry Changes

The biggest recent change is digital. Wilhelmina's filing says traditional retail clients in fashion and beauty face "increased competition from digital, social, and new media," which has reduced their budgets for advertising and model talent¹³. Photogenics Media in Los Angeles began representing creators in Europe in January 2022 and, in September 2022, started a division representing 13 avatars²⁶. Wigdor LLP, the law firm that represents the Model Alliance founder Sara Ziff, reported in February 2025 that in a Model Alliance poll of more than 100 models and influencers, one in five had been asked to submit 3D body scans without knowing how the scans would be used²⁷.

The law has followed. New York's Fashion Workers Act requires separate written consent before a model management company or client creates or uses a model's digital replica, and the state's Department of Labor says any existing power of attorney that covered digital replicas stopped being valid on June 19, 2025¹⁸.

Ethical Business Practices

The clearest sign of a legitimate agency is how it makes money. The FTC's guidance says real modeling agencies will not ask you to pay for a test shoot, for your photographs, or to "secure your spot" for a job. They find jobs for you and pay you after the client pays them².

The large agencies say the same on their own sites. IMG Models' recruitment warning says it never requests photos in the nude or lingerie and never requires monetary payment²⁸. Next Management's recruitment page makes the same promises²⁹, and ONE Management says it will never request nude photos or ask for any form of payment during scouting or recruitment²².

Agencies are also regulated. California's Talent Agencies Act counts models among the "artists" it covers, and anyone who procures work for them in the state needs a license from the Labor Commissioner³⁰,³¹. Florida's talent agency law also lists models as artists³². New York's Fashion Workers Act, which took effect on June 19, 2025, sets rules for model management companies working in the state³³. All three are covered in more detail below.

Major Model Agencies in New York City

The New York State Senate's justification for the Fashion Workers Act described New York as "the center of the American fashion industry," an industry it said employs 180,000 people in the city²⁷. Ford, Wilhelmina, Elite, IMG and Next all keep offices there. Wilhelmina's annual report names its principal US competitors as IMG Models, Elite Model Management, Ford Models, DNA Model Management, Next, The Lions, The Society Management, Women 360 Management and New York Model Management¹³. Each profile below sticks to what the agency's own site, its filings or the trade press supports.

Elite International Agencies

IMG Models. IMG Models began in 1987 as part of IMG¹⁰. In 2025 its website listed men's, women's, development and talent boards in New York, with further offices in Los Angeles, Paris, London, Milan and Sydney¹⁹. Its homepage in June 2025 featured recent work for Dior, Coach and GQ¹⁵.

Elite Model Management. John Casablancas founded Elite New York in 1977, and the agency says it revolutionized the industry "by giving birth to The Supermodel"⁹. Elite's history page lists Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and Tyra Banks among the models Casablancas discovered or represented during his 25 years as chairman. He sold his stake in Elite in April 2000⁹.

Ford Models. Eileen Ford was known for scouting in person; the Times recounts that she spotted Karen Graham on the stairs at the Bonwit Teller department store in Manhattan, and Graham became the first face of Estée Lauder³. The Times lists Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Jerry Hall, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Elle Macpherson among the Ford models who became celebrities, and says Jane Fonda, Brooke Shields, Candice Bergen and Lauren Hutton were among the Ford models who went on to stardom in Hollywood³. It has been owned by Ford Models Brasil since 2020¹⁴.

Wilhelmina Models. Headquartered in New York, Wilhelmina provides model and talent management for models, entertainers, athletes and other talent, and it typically signs models to three-year exclusive contracts¹³.

Next Management. Next was launched in New York in 1989 by Faith Kates and Joel Wilkenfeld¹¹. In a 2017 interview with Glossy, Wilkenfeld described the change he had seen since then: "Today, the business cycles models in and out so frequently"¹¹.

Boutique and Specialized Agencies

The Lions, a New York agency, featured recent work by Candice Swanepoel, Eva Herzigova, Stella Maxwell and Jasmine Tookes on its homepage in January 2025, and advertised studio, branding and public relations services²⁵.

ONE Management runs boards in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as Spain and the UK. Its New York office is on Bond Street, and the agency describes itself as representing "beauty in all its diversity" across fashion, music, television and film³⁴,²².

BMG Models was founded in 1993 by Gregory Brown, who says it has become "one of the largest network agencies in the US." In 2006 it added union talent representation with bmg talent group³⁵. In June 2025 its site listed offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando²¹.

Stewart Talent lists offices in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles³⁶.

Smaller and specialist agencies can suit commercial, lifestyle, curve or fitness work. Check them the same way as the big names, using the steps in the sections on choosing an agency and avoiding scams below.

Leading Model Agencies in Los Angeles

All five of the major New York agencies in this guide also list Los Angeles offices: IMG¹⁵, Ford¹⁷, Wilhelmina⁶, Elite⁹ and Next¹⁶. ONE Management²², BMG Models²¹ and Stewart Talent³⁶ are in Los Angeles too. Wilhelmina's Los Angeles office had 21 full-time employees at the end of 2024, its second largest after New York¹³.

Commercial and Fashion Focused Agencies

LA Models. LA Model Management's site in June 2025 listed boards for women, men, curve, direct, new faces and juniors³⁷.

Photogenics Media. Photogenics was founded in spring 2002 by Nicole Bordeaux, owner of Bordeaux Models, with Dean and Davis Factor, the founders of Smashbox Cosmetics and Smashbox Studios. It is based on Rose Avenue in Venice and describes itself as a fashion, entertainment and media company representing models, talent and creators²⁶. Its divisions include runway, curve, commercial, creators, social and avatar talent³⁸.

Select Model Management. Select's North American offices are in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, alongside London, Milan, Paris and Stockholm in Europe³⁹.

Entertainment Industry Connections

Several agencies represent more than models. Next's talent division lists actors, athletes, dancers and musicians¹⁶. Wilhelmina's Aperture division operates in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and represents actors and models for film, television and commercials, as well as influencers for brand campaigns¹³. WWD reported that for more than 25 years before Aperture, Wilhelmina had run a Los Angeles division, LW1, representing models and actors for film and TV, commercials, endorsements and digital work²⁴.

California's law treats this overlap as one field. The Talent Agencies Act defines "artists" to include actors, musical artists, directors, writers and models, among others, and requires anyone who procures work for them to hold a talent agency license³⁰,³¹. A Los Angeles agency booking a model into a commercial works under the same licensing rules as one booking an actor. Wilhelmina's filing confirms that its subsidiaries hold talent agency licenses in states that require them, naming California and Florida¹³.

California also regulates the businesses that sell services to hopefuls. Since January 1, 2010, its Advance-Fee Talent Services Act has covered talent listing, counseling and training services, which must file a $50,000 bond and give customers a 10-day cancellation period, and it bars people from operating as advance-fee talent representation services⁴⁰. Los Angeles prosecutors have used it: in 2011 a talent manager pleaded no contest to operating an advance-fee talent service and failing to file the bond, after families complained about a paid "boot camp" costing about $3,000 per child⁴¹. "These convictions send the message to talent managers and talent agents that you will be prosecuted in California if you try selling classes, photos, or websites to your clients," Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert said⁴¹.

Top Model Agencies in Other Major Cities

Outside New York and Los Angeles, the national agencies concentrate on Miami and Chicago, and a few also have offices in Atlanta and Orlando.

Miami and Southeast Agencies

Miami appears on the office lists of Ford¹⁷, Wilhelmina⁶, Elite⁹, Next¹⁶, Select³⁹ and BMG Models²¹. BMG's Miami office runs a runway board as well as mainboard, direct, lifestyle and youth boards²¹. Wilhelmina runs its women's, men's, direct, curve, showroom and fitness boards in Miami, keeps a model apartment there and had nine full-time employees in the city at the end of 2024¹³.

Miami agencies have drawn investment from New York owners before. The Chicago Tribune reported in 1993 that the family that owned Wilhelmina had also acquired half of Michele Pommier Models in Miami, which claimed $7 million in annual billings¹².

Elsewhere in the Southeast, Select³⁹, BMG²¹ and Stewart Talent³⁶ list Atlanta offices, and BMG also lists Orlando²¹. BMG's founder says its network of offices lets it offer talent "opportunities for global exposure without having to be in a major market"³⁵.

Florida licenses talent agencies at the state level. Its talent agency law defines an artist to include "a model"³², and owning or operating a talent agency without a license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is a third-degree felony⁴². Each licensed agency must file a $5,000 surety bond that an aggrieved person can sue on⁴³. Its ads must show its licensed name, license number and the words "talent agency," and it must tell an artist in writing that they can cancel a contract within three business days of signing⁴⁴. It is a misdemeanor for a Florida talent agency to require an applicant to buy a photography service, school, acting school or workshop as a condition of registering or getting work⁴².

Chicago and Midwest Representatives

Chicago is the Midwest base for several national agencies. Ford¹⁷, ONE Management²², Select³⁹, BMG Models²¹ and Stewart Talent³⁶ all listed Chicago offices in June 2025. Ford has been there a long time: CNN's 2014 report listed Chicago among Ford's branches¹. ONE Management's Chicago office is on East Ohio Street³⁴, and BMG's Chicago office runs mainboard, curve, lifestyle, youth and new faces boards²¹.

Next's online application asks applicants to choose an office location²⁹, so it makes sense to apply to the office nearest you.

How to Choose the Right Model Agency

Start by confirming that the agency is real and has booked real work. Then read the contract closely, and know the history of how agency contracts have been challenged.

Evaluating Agency Reputation and Client Roster

The FTC suggests searching an agency's name with words like "scam," "review" or "complaint," and asking for a list of clients, models and actors who have worked with it². It warns that some scam agencies display pictures of successful models they never represented and name well-known companies that supposedly hired their models, so get contact details and check². The Model Alliance, a nonprofit for models, gives similar advice: visit an agency's website to see whether it represents recognizable faces, and ask to speak with models on its roster⁴⁵.

An established agency's recent work is public. In June 2025, Ford's homepage featured work by its models for Chanel, Jil Sander, Proenza Schouler and Harper's Bazaar¹⁷, and IMG's homepage showed work for Dior, Coach and GQ¹⁵.

Verify anyone who contacts you. IMG asks anyone approached by a supposed IMG representative to call one of its offices before responding²⁸. Wilhelmina gives the same advice and says it accepts model submissions only through its own scouting and its website⁴⁶.

Understanding Contract Terms and Commission Structures

The FTC says the contract you sign with an agency should state what percentage it takes of the money you make on assignments². Get every promise in writing, including spoken ones, and keep copies of your contract². The Model Alliance adds that most agency contracts are one-sided in the agency's favor, that the terms are negotiable, and that a legitimate agency will give you time to review a contract with a lawyer⁴⁵.

Length. Wilhelmina's annual report says it "typically signs its models to three-year exclusive contracts, which it actively enforces"¹³. New York's Fashion Workers Act now caps model management contracts at three years and bars contracts that renew without the model's approval¹⁸.

Commission and fees. For decades New York agencies avoided the state's employment agency rules. Employment agencies in New York must be licensed, post a $5,000 bond and follow a statutory cap on fees, but the law excludes businesses that manage artists where finding them work is only incidental, and modeling agencies relied on that "incidental booking exception"²³,²⁷. In 2005 the legislature passed a bill to separate "personal managers" from theatrical employment agencies, but Governor George Pataki vetoed it on August 19, 2005²³. The Fashion Workers Act's sponsors said it would close "the legal loophole by which management companies escape accountability"²⁷. Under the law, model management companies may not charge a model more than 20% commission, and they may not collect a fee or deposit when a model signs¹⁸.

Money you are owed. Under the same law, a model must receive a deal memo listing the total pay and the payment term before a job starts, and can complain to the New York State Department of Labor or go to court if payment is late¹⁸. In California, money a licensed talent agency receives for an artist goes into a trust account, and the artist must be paid, less commission, within 30 days⁴⁷. California agencies must also have their contract forms approved by the Labor Commissioner and file a schedule of their fees⁴⁷. Florida requires a licensed agency to keep a record of each booking and of the fees it receives from each artist⁴⁴.

What the courts have heard. In 2002, models filed a federal class action in Manhattan, first called Masters v. Wilhelmina Model Agency and later Fears v. Wilhelmina, against the major New York agencies. Judge Harold Baer described the claims as, among other things, "conspiring to set the fees charged to models and to fix other terms and conditions of the plaintiffs' contracts" and charging fees above the maximum New York law allowed²³. A parallel state case alleged that the agencies charged models 20% and clients 20%, and that they had given up their Department of Consumer Affairs licenses in the early 1970s²³. The federal case settled in 2004, and ABC News reported that a federal judge approved a settlement of nearly $22 million in 2005²³,⁴⁸. The state case was dismissed in 2005 because none of the remaining named plaintiffs had a relationship with the agencies that had not settled²³.

The disputes did not end there. In October 2013, former Wilhelmina model Alex Shanklin and others sued Wilhelmina and other agencies in New York State Supreme Court over the handling and reporting of funds held for models and the use of model images, later adding claims that models were employees under the New York Labor Law¹³. In May 2020 the court certified a class on some Labor Law claims about wage deductions and wage statements, while denying certification on the contract and unpaid usage claims¹³. Wilhelmina says the claims are without merit, and as of March 2025 the case was in merits discovery¹³.

Getting Signed by a Top Model Agency

The major agencies take applications online, and those that publish their requirements ask for simple photos and basic measurements.

Portfolio and Application Requirements

Next's online application asks for height and measurements, plus a close-up, a side profile, a full-length shot, an upper-body shot and a photo of the eyes²⁹.

IMG Models' FAQ for under-18 applicants says it accepts applications from ages 14 to 18 with a guardian's consent. It prefers natural snapshots taken in daylight, asks that the applicant wear no makeup, and says professional photos are not necessary. It charges no fee to apply or sign, and a legal guardian must attend any in-person meeting or video call with a minor¹⁹. If IMG is interested, the applicant and guardian are invited to a follow-up meeting or video call to discuss representation and development¹⁹.

That matches the FTC's guidance for parents. Legitimate agents, casting directors and producers generally ask for casual snapshots of children, and the market for child models is very small because a child's looks change quickly². The New York State Assembly's consumer advisory on modeling scams passes on the state Consumer Protection Board's advice that hopefuls "would be better off taking one good photograph and sending it to several legitimate modeling or talent agencies" than paying for photo packages⁴⁹.

In California, before an entertainment work permit is issued to a minor aged 14 to 17, a parent must make sure the minor completes sexual harassment prevention training, with the parent present. A licensed agency must keep a copy of a minor's work permit before representing the minor or sending them to an audition or meeting²⁰.

Keep the first submission simple. In California, a licensed agency may not refer you to a photographer or other service in which it has a financial interest⁴⁷, and in Florida an agency may not make buying photography or classes a condition of representation⁴².

Avoiding Scams and Red Flags

The pattern is decades old. In 1999 the FTC charged three Washington, D.C.-area companies, Model 1, Creative Talent Management and The Erickson Agency, with misrepresenting their ability to get consumers lucrative modeling and acting jobs⁵⁰. According to the complaint, salespeople approached people in shopping malls and metro stations with a line and a card, and people who came in for what they thought was a job interview were sold training classes and photographs costing from several hundred to more than a thousand dollars⁵⁰. In August 1999, Model 1 and Creative Talent Management settled: they agreed to write off about $3 million in payments owed by consumers and to post a $500,000 bond before ever selling modeling or acting classes again⁵¹.

The same week in May 1999, the FTC went to court to halt Screen Test U.S.A., a New Jersey company that sold parents a "screen test" for about $45 and then photo packages of $495 to $795⁵². It endorsed itself through a so-called consumer group that, the FTC said, "is nothing more than a shell corporation created and controlled by the owner of Screen Test U.S.A."⁵². "This screen test was a smoke screen," said Jodie Bernstein, then director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection⁵². In 2000 the defendants were banned from conducting screen tests or assessing anyone's modeling or acting ability, under settlements totaling $972,000⁵³.

State prosecutors have brought similar cases. In 2006 the New York Attorney General settled with New Faces, a Hicksville company that sent "talent scouts" to Roosevelt Field mall, Jones Beach and concert halls; the office found that "New Faces is not a modeling agency and rarely obtained modeling or acting employment for its clients," and the company agreed to pay $75,000 in penalties and up to $500,000 in restitution⁵⁴. "Model and acting development centers and photo studios should only promise what they can actually deliver," then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said⁵⁴. In 2013 the Nassau County District Attorney and the Attorney General charged three employees of a Hicksville modeling company with defrauding families out of more than $250,000, and issued an arrest warrant for its chief executive⁵⁵. Scouts had approached young teenagers and parents with small children at the Queens Center and Roosevelt Field malls, telling them they had a "look" that made them likely to succeed⁵⁵. "Hundreds of families were led to believe that their child was the next big thing, only to learn that they were just the next in line to be scammed," District Attorney Kathleen Rice said⁵⁵. The chief executive, James Muniz, and the company, New Faces Development Center, pleaded guilty and in July 2014 was sentenced to 2-1/2 to five years in prison for scamming 100 clients of more than $236,000⁵⁶. In New Jersey, a company that stationed staff in malls and amusement parks to approach parents of young children agreed in 2013 to pay $99,590 in restitution and $300,410 to the state⁵⁷. The state had alleged that the company presented itself as a model or talent agency when it provided only photo shoots and access to a website for posting photos. "We always advise consumers to get all the relevant terms in writing and to understand what you are paying for before signing any contract," said Eric T. Kanefsky, then acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs⁵⁷.

Online, Explore Talent, a web-based talent search company, agreed in 2018 to pay $235,000 in civil penalties to settle FTC charges that it collected children's information without parental consent, and the FTC alleged that it baselessly told prospective paying members that casting directors were interested in them. One user reported that a telemarketer said the casting director for a "Jack Reacher" sequel wanted the user to audition; the premium membership cost $39.95 a month⁵⁸.

The FTC's current guidance lists the warning signs²:

They ask you to pay. Real agencies do not charge for a test shoot, for photos or to secure a spot. Any agency asking for money to represent you is a scam.

They guarantee work or big earnings. Modeling work is irregular even for successful models, and there are never guarantees.

They make you use their photographer. Some agencies have photographers they work with regularly, but using them should never be a condition of getting assignments.

They rush you to sign. Take time to check out a company. An offer that is good today should still be good tomorrow.

They tell you how to pay. A demand for cash, money orders, gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency is a sure sign of a scam.

Nobody has heard of them. Unless an agency is new, it should be able to show the work it has booked for models.

State law backs this up. A California talent agency may not collect a registration fee⁴⁷, must include its license number in any advertisement soliciting talent, and must carry a $50,000 bond³¹. In New York, a model management company may not require a fee or deposit from a model to sign, and the Department of Labor says an ad asking a model to pay a fee or deposit to be considered "could be fraudulent or a scam"¹⁸.

Scammers also pose as real agencies. IMG, Next and ONE Management all warn that people falsely claim to be their scouts, and all three say they never ask for nude photos or payment²⁸,²⁹,²². Next adds that it does not conduct interviews over Skype²⁹. The Model Alliance warns that "if someone asks you to send suggestive photos of yourself, pay him or her any amount of money, or offers you a large amount of money, it is most likely a scam," and advises never meeting a stranger alone about modeling work⁴⁵. The FBI lists "the possibility of a modeling contract" among the lures used in sextortion schemes aimed at children⁵⁹.

If you paid a modeling agency or program that took your money and did not deliver, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov².

Conclusion

The top US agencies are easy to check. Their histories are documented in decades of reporting, their offices and boards are listed on their own websites, one of them publishes an annual report, and their models' recent work is public.

The record also shows why the checks matter. Agencies have been sued over commissions and model pay, and companies posing as agencies have been stopped by the FTC and state prosecutors for selling photo shoots and classes. New York, California and Florida now put specific rules on commissions, fees, contracts and advertising.

Apply through the agency's own website, send simple natural photos, read the contract for the commission, length and renewal terms, and walk away from anyone who asks for money up front. California bars licensed talent agencies from charging registration fees⁴⁷, Florida bars them from requiring you to buy photos or classes⁴², and New York bars model management companies from charging models to sign³³.