Since making her way to the judging table in season 8 of Heidi were replaced by Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union in season 14. Since then, she has been judging alongside Sofia Vergara, Simon Cowell, and Howie Mandel.
Heidi and former judge Mel B once went head to head in a Glam Off sketch during the season 9 live shows. What started with a “Is that what you’re wearing?” ended in a number of extravagant costume changes. The German supermodel and English pop star then threw themselves into a catfight, which casually ended once they were called to stage.
Another sketch occurred in season 8. Runner up Taylor Williamson made his crush on Heidi very clear with his flirtatious greetings preceding his acts, as well as his jokes about her having spent the night with him. The following season, Taylor returned for a skit with Heidi, where the two claimed to be a couple. After smashing a pickle jar open with a hammer and disguising herself in a t-shirt that read, “I’m not Heidi Klum” as she walked hand in hand with a gorilla mask-wearing Taylor, Heidi woke up, realizing the comedy act was all a dream. Except it actually wasn’t as Taylor was in her dressing room with her, leading Heidi to look into the camera and scream.
Taylor wasn’t the only competitor to have heart eyes for the mother of four. Sal Valentinetti was Heidi’s golden buzzer in season 11, and she went on to perform a duet with him at the AGT Holiday Spectacular. Sal began the first verses of “Santa Baby,” and Heidi came descending on a giant candy cane, only to later slip and fall midsong. Season 10’s Piff the Magic Dragon on America's Got Talent, who also got the golden buzzer, made his feelings known when he shared that he had a wife named Heidi that he recently met, only to be talking about the blonde judge herself. During judge cuts, he even went in for a kiss and left Heidi in stitches.
Heidi’s kisses didn’t stop there, though. It was when John Vincent and his pig pal Mudslinger showed up that she decided she wanted a peck from the little piggy. “Kiss the pig!” the audience repeatedly shouted as she made her way to the stage. Heidi then shared a kiss with Mudslinger and said it’d give her good luck. Season 15, she did the same with Pork Chop Revue, while Sofia only gave the swine a pat on the head.
She is also the creator of her iconic hand binoculars on America's Got Talent, where Heidi puts her circle-shaped hands around both eyes while watching auditioners, saying it helps her see the acts better. “When it’s so bright, I can’t see what they’re doing, and I need to judge!” she said in response to a fan who told her the binoculars are ridiculous and that she needs to stop. Upon seeing an act turn Heidi into a scaly creature, another fan said they always knew she was secretly a reptile, and Heidi didn’t deny it. “Yes, I am one of those lizards,” she said, making a lizard-like face that Mel B told her to never make again. With season 16 just getting started, we can expect a lot more of Heidi’s finest moments to come.