‘America’s Got Talent’ Judges: See Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, and Co-Stars From 1st Appearance to Now
America’s Got Talent has excited audiences for nearly two decades. Now, fans eagerly await the NBC talent show competition‘s premiere on Tuesday, May 28, at 8 pm ET/PT. Season 19 promises to be a wild one, hosted by Terry Crews and judged by Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara. Let’s look at how far the America’s Got Talent crew has come since each first joined the show.
First, let’s reflect on America’s Got Talent‘s beginnings. The first season premiered in the summer of 2006, with auditions in NYC, Chicago, and LA. With a grand prize of $1 million in cash, AGT attracted contestants from every corner of the U.S. The late Regis Philbin hosted, and the judges included singer Brandy Norwood, actor David Hasselhoff, and journalist Piers Morgan. Over 12 million viewers tuned in as the show received surprisingly high ratings.
NBC expanded Season 2, adding Dallas for auditions and more episodes to the series overall. Jerry Springer replaced Philbin, and Sharon Osbourne replaced Norwood. America’s Got Talent‘s production team revised the audition and voting processes. As AGT built a foundation for years of entertainment, Hasselhoff and Morgan stayed on for several more seasons. Things look a lot different 17 years later. Here’s a look at the Season 19 host and judges, who all joined later in the AGT story.
Howie Mandel is the longest-tenured current judge on the America’s Got Talent panel. The comedian joined the show in 2010 for Season 5. The 68-year-old was 54 when he replaced David Hasselhoff, who left to film The Hasselhoffs, a reality show that A&E canceled after two episodes.
Since joining AGT, Mandel has hosted Canada’s Got Talent. The Toronto native also co-hosts a podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, with his daughter, Jackelyn Shultz.
In 2015, Simon Cowell joined Season 11 of America’s Got Talent when Howard Stern left the show. (Stern participated from Seasons 7-10.) By this time, Nick Cannon was hosting, and Cowell was working on his third talent show competition. Before AGT, Cowell served as a judge on American Idol and The X Factor. However, the now-64-year-old had been involved with AGT since the beginning as an executive product via his company Syco. He’ll continue as a panel judge for Season 19.
In 2019, Terry Crews replaced Tyra Banks, who left America’s Got Talent after two seasons. Fifty years old at the time, Crews began hosting for Season 14 after his hosting gig on AGT‘s spinoff show, The Champions. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star balanced his time on the police procedural comedy series and AGT for two years before focusing on the latter. Now 55 years old, the former NFL star looks ready for a fun new season of talented acts.
Heidi Klum first joined America’s Got Talent in 2013 for Season 8. The German-American model, then 39, became the fourth judge on the panel as production increased the group from three judges to four. She replaced Sharon Osbourne, who exited AGT after a dispute with NBC. Klum judged Seasons 8-13 and left before Season 14.
A source called her exit “a network decision,” reports ET. The source also acknowledged that Klum was working on the reality fashion competition Making the Cut for Amazon Prime Video. Now 50, Klum returned to AGT for the 15th Season and has served as a judge ever since.
Sofía Vergara joined America’s Got Talent for Season 15 in 2020. NBC had dropped Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough after Season 14 — both judges during Klum’s short hiatus — and added Vergara. The Griselda star, now 51, was a welcome addition as the team adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 19 premieres on Tuesday, May 28, at 8 pm ET/PT. It promises to show some of the “wildest acts to ever grace at AGT stage,” reports People. Cowell elaborated, “In the first two days, we’ve used more Golden Buzzers than we’ve ever used — that’s got to be a good sign!”
