Reality Show Judges Who Disappeared From The Spotlight

Since the turn of the millennium, we have seen hundreds upon hundreds of reality shows hit the airwaves, creating new stars and providing a platform for old ones to shine. And while there are many genres of reality TV — from docusoaps to court shows to home renovation series — the reality competition shows are some of the most popular. For every long-lasting "Dancing with the Stars" or "Survivor," there have been countless other programs that have come and gone. You are not alone if you have no recollection of series such as "Shipping Wars," "America's Worst Driver," or "Bridalplasty," to name a few.

Many of these shows have garnered attention for their casts, at least temporarily. This includes not only the contestants but also the hosts and judges. And while some of these people have gone on to maintain or grow their fame, others have faded back into obscurity. The vast majority of reality competition show judges are incredibly successful at what they do, but not all of them have stayed in front of the limelight. The judges on our list disappeared from the spotlight, either by choice or by circumstance, but we wanted to check in on their current whereabouts. Here is a selection of reality show judges who are now working largely behind-the-scenes of Hollywood or entirely outside of the entertainment business.

"So You Think You Can Dance" debuted in the summer of 2005, and since its premiere, the show has cycled through a variety of judges, none of whom have lasted the whole time. (Nigel Lythgoe lasted through Season 16, but in 2022 he parted ways with the series.) Mia Michaels was not one of the series' most memorable judges, since she was only on the panel for Season 7, but she was beyond notable for her work as a choreographer on the show. She won three Primetime Emmy Awards for her routines on "So You Think You Can Dance."

After five years with "So You Think You Can Dance," Michaels left the reality series in October 2009 to pursue other opportunities. Amongst other projects, she worked on "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" before returning to the U.S. version to judge in 2010. In addition to popping by "SYTYCD" as a guest choreographer from time to time, she has remained pretty active in Hollywood as a choreographer and is a faculty member of schools like Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. Some of her choreography credits outside of "SYTYCD" include "Waitress" on Broadway, the feature film adaptation of "Rock of Ages," and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. 

America's Next Top Model pedaled through many, many judges over its two dozen seasons. These included supermodels like Twiggy, Janice Dickinson, Paulina Porizkova, and Kimora Lee Simmons, as well as fashion industry insiders like André Leon Talley and Kelly Cutrone. Nolé Marin is one insider who had a short run on the show, appearing as a judge for Seasons (or "cycles" as the show called them) 3 and 4. VH1 placed Marin — who at one time owned AIM Model Management — at number nine on their 2014 ranking of "ANTM" judges. Marin has largely faded from the public eye in the years since he was fired from the show.

That is not to say that we never hear about Marin. Over the years, he has made the news for less-than-ideal reasons, such as lawsuits and financial issues. In 2010, Marin was sued for sexually harassing a male model, per The Cut. Six years later, he was sued by multiple people who worked for him for not paying them money they were owed, per New York Daily News. In 2017, Marin again made the news when he filed for bankruptcy. "He screwed them once — and now he screwed them again," attorney Paul Liggieri, who represents models owed wages from Marin, told The New York Post. "Nole thinks he's going to sail off into the sunset, but in the court of public opinion, his boat has already been sunk."

"Nashville Star" aired from 2003 to 2008 and produced some mega superstars, like Miranda Lambert and Kelsea Ballerini. It also featured multiple known celebrities as judges, from Blake Shelton to Bret Michaels to Jewel. One other judge, Charlie Robison, is lesser known by the general public but a relatively large figure in the country scene. Robison was a judge for the first season of the show, after which he was replaced. "There were good times. The thing that always kept me going was looking at my check every week. I'd be like, 'OK, I do like TV.' But it was more like a good experience," Robison told Lonestar Music Magazine in 2004. "I would never want to go back and do it again."

Robison is known for his work in country music, which includes having five songs place on the Billboard "Hot Country Songs" chart. His highest charting song is "I Want You Bad," which reached number 35 in 2001. Robison continued to make music after "Nashville Star," but has since left the industry entirely. In 2018, he announced his retirement from music. "At the beginning of this year I underwent a surgical procedure that because of complications left me with the permanent inability to sing. Therefore, with a very heavy heart I am officially retiring from the stage and studio," Robison wrote on Facebook.

Like Chris Robison, Robert Oermann was a one-and-done "Nashville Star" judge, appearing only in the first season before being replaced by a rotating panel of judges. While he may not be a household name for most of us, Oermann is well-known in country music circles for his journalistic work covering the genre. His casting made sense, but the show never held onto its judges for very long. The longest running judge on "Nashville Star" was Anastasia Brown, who lasted three seasons. Oermann has made his career covering music from the sidelines, not being center stage, so he went back to a lower profile after his stint on the show.

Oermann has continued to make occasional appearances on television, but nothing big enough to bring any real attention to himself. For example, he was a talking head in two 2020 biographical features, "The Taylor Swift Story: Dare to Dream" and "A&E Biography: Kenny Rogers." He has also been a featured expert in pieces on Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw, amongst others. In 2018, Oermann was honored at the Music Row Storytellers awards, per The Tennessean. "Robert has been such an asset to our business because he's at everything and he observes from a different post than ordinary people," Grand Ole Opry staple Jeannie Seely told the outlet. "He comes away with a different take than the rest of us...History will remember the things he wrote." They may remember his writing, but his stint on "Nashville Star" will be a tiny footnote.

Pick a topic and there's probably been a competition reality show (or seven) devoted to it. There are the big ones in the genre — the dating shows, the music shows, the adventure shows like "Survivor" — and then the more random ones, like "Face Off," for people who make prosthetics. We have seen competition shows targeted at everyone from aspiring tattoo artists ("Best Ink," "Ink Master") to politicians ("American Candidate") to shooters ("Top Shot"). One of the more random but not totally unexpected ones is "Shear Genius," which took something as commonplace as hair styling and turned it into a competition. "Shear Genius" aired on Bravo for three seasons, from 2007 to 2010.

While some of the series' judges were already famous — like "Charlie's Angels" star Jaclyn Smith — others got a slice of the spotlight when the show came out. Kelly Atterton was a Season 2 judge who no one knew until her time on "Shear Genius." At the time, she was the West Coast editor for Allure, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. After her one season on the show, she faded back to obscurity, racking up no subsequent on-screen credits. She left Allure in 2016 and is now Beauty Director for C California Style magazine.

Many of "American Idol's" judges — from Katy Perry to Lionel Richie to Paula Abdul have been superstars in their own right, long before joining the series. Others, like Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, have become household names because of the show. Kara DioGuardi is definitely the least famous judge the show has ever seen and, though she is incredibly accomplished, a lot of people have probably forgotten about her by now. Her firing from the show came as a big shock to her, per her book "A Helluva High Note," but she never seemed to gel with the rest of the gang and, by her own admission, was especially unliked by Cowell (via Rolling Stone).

DioGuardi was only on "American Idol' for Seasons 8 and 9, and even she admits that her stint on the show did not work. "I was in a foreign place, speaking a foreign language with no translator. I could never seem to let the real me out," she wrote. After the show, DioGuardi had a one-season gig on the songwriting show "Platinum Hit" and briefly appeared on Broadway in "Chicago," but eventually faded from the spotlight. For the most part, DioGuardi's success has been behind the scenes anyway, so she went back to what she knew — songwriting, producing, and running her companies, Arthouse Publishing/Records and Briidge. She also taught at Berklee College of Music, per The Hollywood Reporter, and is on the board of a cannabis company, per Forbes.

Long before his presidency, but well after his initial business success, Donald Trump made waves with his reality show "The Apprentice." Trump's show ran for 15 years, though it morphed into "The Celebrity Apprentice" beginning in Season 7. The format of the show always had Trump making the decisions, but with the aid of two fellow judges, called "advisors." The original advisors, Carolyn Kepcher and George H. Ross, were actual employees of Trump's companies and quickly became household names. They no longer are.

Though The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Trump was more dismissive of Kepcher, it was she who did the best job at grabbing that spotlight. Kepcher — who was an executive vice president for the Trump Organization and ran the Trump National Golf Club — was on "The Apprentice" from 2004 to 2006, for Seasons 1 through 5. During this time she also made appearances on shows like "The View" and "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch," and wrote a book, "Carolyn 101: Business Lessons From the Apprentice's Straight Shooter," but it was all of the chasing celebrity that reportedly got her axed, according to the New York Post. Ross, who was an executive vice president and senior counsel for the Trump Organization, lasted five seasons as well, but appeared as a guest for many more. Per ABC News, he confirmed that Kepcher's quest for fame got in the way of her job with the Trump Organization; Kepcher maintained she was not fired. 

"RuPaul's Drag Race" is still thriving and its cast of judges — RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, and Carson Kressley — work so well together that it is easy to forget they were not the original lineup. In fact, you would not be alone if you forgot the name Merle Ginsberg, since she has all but left the limelight and was not even on the show when it really blew up into what it is now. Ginsberg was a permanent judge on the first two seasons, and then returned as a guest in Season 7. According to Out, the plan had always been for Visage to join the show, so once she freed up, Ginsberg got booted.

Ginsberg is a fashion and entertainment journalist who has worked for Rolling Stone, Women's Wear Daily, Harper's Bazaar, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She's also worked as a ghostwriter, contributing to books such as Paris Hilton's "Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose." She was also once a reality contestant herself, on "Launch My Line," but if you know her at all, it's probably for "Drag Race." She did an interview in a 2021 episode of a web series called "Exposed," but she appears to have ditched her onscreen journey for the most part. As of this writing, she's the style editor for Los Angeles Magazine. 

Merle Ginsberg is not the only early "RuPaul's Drag Race" judge whose star has faded. Santino Rice is another early season vet, though he lasted far longer and thus is remembered more often. Rice was a judge for the first six seasons of "RuPaul's Drag Race," spanning from 2009 through 2014. He also made a guest appearance in 2015, but has not been back in the eight cycles since then. Rice was often critiqued for mistreating certain queens, which may have led to his being let go. It would make sense, given how friendly and sweet his replacements (Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley) are toward the contestants.

Rice is not just famous for judging "Drag Race," but also for his own time as a contestant on Bravo's "Project Runway," where he made it to the top three in the show's second season. After that, he did the rounds on a few talk shows and reality series before Mama Ru came calling. During his run on "RuPaul's Drag Race," Rice also co-hosted "On the Road with Austin & Santino" and appeared on "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked," in addition to judging the first "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars." He has had no screen credits since leaving the "Drag Race" family in 2015, and has only sporadically made the news in recent years, most often for something negative like (maybe) going on an anti-vaccination tweet-spree, per Out.

For as famous as she herself is, Ellen DeGeneres did not attract any super famous names when she created her reality show "Ellen's Design Challenge" back in 2015. The show — which should not be confused with the very similar series "Ellen's Next Great Designer" — aired for just two short seasons (15 episodes total) on HGTV. Though every judge was accomplished, there were no household names like a Nate Berkus or David Bromstad. Designer Cliff Fong became a judge in Season 2, replacing then-editor-in-chief of Dwell, Amanda Dameron, a Season 1 judge. Christiane Lemieux, executive creative director for Wayfair, was the second judge for both seasons. All of them have now faded back into relative obscurity after their 15 minutes of dim spotlight.

Neither Dameron nor Lemieux appear to have any other screen credits aside from "Ellen's Design Challenge," while Fong has only one: a 2021 episode of "Point of View: A Designer Profile." Fong is still an in-demand designer, working for celebrities like Jason Biggs and Ryan Murphy, not to mention DeGeneres herself, per Artful Living. Lemieux has founded numerous companies, including her newest one, LEMIEUX ET CIE, which sells home furnishings. She published her third book in 2020 and contributes to all the big home magazines. It is unclear what Dameron is up to, but her LinkedIn indicates she left Dwell in 2017 and last worked at Dotdash Meredith, up until March 2022.

"American Inventor" never took off the way "Shark Tank" has, and so you are forgiven if the reality series seems unfamiliar. The show aired on ABC for two seasons back in 2006 and 2007, with the goal of finding the greatest inventor in America from within a group of 12 finalists who were given funds to work on their inventions. The show had some bigger name judges who have remained highly relevant, like George Foreman, the boxer with the grill dynasty, and Sara Blakely, the hugely successful founder of Spanx. They also had some lesser-known judges, such as authors Doug Hall and Mary Lou Quinlan.

But Ed Evangelista is perhaps the least known of the show's six judges — the list also includes former president of the Philadelphia 76ers Pat Croce and entrepreneur Peter Jones, who was at one time a fixture on the similarly themed "Dragon's Den" — and the one whose star is currently shining the softest. He had a brief stint on a show called "Homemade Millionaire," which ran for six episodes in 2010, and has not been a public figure since. Per Entrepreneur magazine, Evangelista is an accomplished advertiser who has spearheaded major campaigns for companies such as DeBeers and Rolex. He still works in creative leadership, per his LinkedIn, and appears to be more focused on advertising and less on broadcasting today.

Here's the thing about "Skating with Celebrities" — the Fox reality show that paired famous people with pro skaters — some of the skaters were far more famous than the so-called celebrities. On the skater side we had stars like Nancy Kerrigan and Kurt Browning, and the contestants were people like Debbie Gibson and Kristy Swanson, both of whom haven't been truly famous in decades. Two of the judges were relatively known as well — skating legends Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill — while the other two were not. Skating coach John Nicks and writer/analyst Mark Lund completed the panel, and both of them have since disappeared from the spotlight.

"Skating with Celebrities" was a one-season show based on its British counterpart, the far more successful "Dancing on Ice." It is one of Hicks' only two credits, as he never seemed to be searching for the limelight, but Lund made a real play for TV fame. Lund has written, produced, and directed a handful of projects, and had small, often uncredited roles in a handful more. Since "Skating with Celebrities," he has only had a few TV appearances as himself, including a "30 for 30" about Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. His LinkedIn shows that he has had a number of other jobs since his time on reality TV, including a stint as the Drama Director at Becker College and two and a half years in marketing for Gannett.

"Scream Queens" was a two-season VH1 reality show that saw female contestants compete for an acting role in a horror movie. The show — which aired from 2008 to 2010 — had three judges who also provided guidance. In Season 1, they were actor Shawnee Smith, director James Gunn, and acting coach John Homa, while season two saw Smith replaced by actor Jaime King and Gunn replaced by director Tim Sullivan. Of all these names, Homa is the least recognizable, and the one who has removed himself most drastically from the spotlight.

Homa's first acting credit was in "The Edge of Night" in 1982. He had some other small roles throughout the 1980s, but has not acted much since, save for two obscure credits from 2004 and 2005. "Scream Queens" appears to be the last time he was on screen. Per his website, Homa still works as an acting coach, offering workshops, weekly classes, and private lessons. He is very successful at what he does, having worked with celebrities like Brie Larson, Evan Rachel Wood, and Michelle Williams, and on productions like "General Hospital" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." So, while he might not be in the spotlight himself, he functions as one of the many people that help others shine bright.

It is almost shocking to think about how a show as shallow as "Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People" made the airwaves, but then again, we as a culture have also produced "Temptation Island," "Joe Millionaire," and "The Swan," so the bar is quite low. Still, "Are You Hot?" was a pretty weak premise — scour the country for its sexiest people and then dissect them on national TV losing harsh comments and a laser pointer. Grazia called it one of "the most offensive reality shows ever" and audiences did not love it either, as evidenced by its 1.5 rating on IMDb. "You don't have to sit through a bad version of some old Aretha Franklin song; you just see good-looking people either validated as gorgeous or cut to shreds as posers," producer Mike Fleiss told Entertainment Weekly.

That shredding most often came from judge Lorenzo Lamas, famous for acting in TV series such as "Falcon Crest" and "Renegade," and his laser pointer. Model Rachel Hunter was another coach, and she was slightly nicer than Lamas, though the entire premise of the show requires some meanness. Randolph Duke was the third and least famous coach, and he has all but disappeared from the spotlight save for some fashion commentator gigs. The CFDA member works in fashion and has multiple businesses, including a New Mexico store called THE DUKE and I and a design company, Randolph Duke Couture.