Why did Heidi Klum Leave Project Runway?
For longtime Project Runway fans, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn were basically the heart of the whole thing. They kicked off the series, stuck around for sixteen seasons, then both walked away and honestly? The vibe was never exactly the same. So why did they do it? Turns out, creative limits were pushing them out. Heidi said their “imagination was bigger than what we were allowed to do” on the show and called it “the same old, same old” when Project Runway switched from Lifetime back to Bravo in 2018. She actually asked Tim straight up—did he want to “jump ship” with her? He did, and that’s how they ended up pitching their own fashion competition, Making the Cut, to Amazon.
Heidi believed Amazon’s platform would be better, not just for herself, but for the designers too. She said, “Everything just fell apart” after years of suggesting new ideas that the producers didn’t want to try. Gunn himself hinted there was a lot of fear in the room about changing the formula, despite their desire to try something different. When the decision was made, they weren’t actually even asked back for the Project Runway revival—Klum and Gunn were replaced by new hosts and judges, but let’s be real, their absence was always felt by those of us who watched from the start.
These days, Heidi’s not shy about sharing career updates on Instagram either. She posted some recent throwback photos from earlier Project Runway years and shared behind-the-scenes moments prepping for her big return, with a low-key caption: “Back to where it all began—excited for this new season!” There are comments filled with love from old-school fans who watched religiously every Thursday night.
Where is Heidi Klum from?
Heidi wasn’t born in New York or Los Angeles, but Bergisch Gladbach—a small city near Cologne, in the west of Germany. She grew up middle-class, her dad worked in perfume production, her mom was a hairdresser. She went to high school there, and after winning a national modeling competition at 18, she ditched a design apprenticeship to go all-in on modeling. It was a risk, moving to the U.S. right after graduation, but she’s said more than once she never really fit the ultra-skinny European ideal anyway, and America gave her more options.
Ask Germans about Heidi Klum and trust me, they know her not just as a model but as a pop culture force. She still speaks German with her family, and she’s hosted “Germany’s Next Topmodel” for years. Even after getting U.S. citizenship in 2008 (she’s long called herself German-American), she routinely visits her hometown, posts birthday photos from Bergisch Gladbach, and wrote on Instagram last year, “Home is always in my heart”.
Lately, Heidi’s Instagram has transformed into a bit of a Bergisch Gladbach fan page each June. She shared pictures celebrating her birthday there this year (big cake, small German flags, usual Klum-style extravagance), and local fans commented, mostly in German, excited to spot her around town again. Those familiar with her social media know she’s become pretty open about her roots—sometimes using both English and German in her captions, making her global following feel included.
Heidi’s definitely come a long way since those modest beginnings in a German suburb, but she really does not hide where she’s from. There’s even the sense she enjoys reminding people: success didn’t erase her roots—she just built a runway on top.
On the days when she trends on Twitter, someone will inevitably share a video clip from German TV or a throwback to “Model 92,” the contest she won that started it all, with comments like: “Still the queen of Bergisch Gladbach. Don’t forget where you came from, @heidiklum!”
She’s lived all over the U.S. now, but that German straightforwardness? Still comes through loud and clear, whether she’s judging on TV or just posting a no-frills photo with her family. For Project Runway fans, it’s practically canon at this point: Heidi’s roots are in Germany, but her home—and her cultural impact—is everywhere.
