Tyra Banks Supermodel, - Biography
Supermodel
Height:
5'10"
Weight: 161 pounds
A
pic of her
Born December 4, 1973, Los Angeles, California, USA
Tyra
Lynne Banks is a television personality, author, actress, singer, executive producer,
talk show host, & former supermodel. She is well known for her role as the
host & judge of the reality television show America's Next Top Model. Banks
is widely recognized as one of the world's premier fashion models, & was one
of the original Victoria's Secret Angels.
Tyra Banks was born in Los Angeles,
California, USA to Don Banks & Carolyn London. She was raised in Inglewood,
California with her brother Devin, & attended Immaculate Heart High School,
an all-girls, independent Catholic private school in Los Angeles. Growing up,
she was very thin & often teased; she was considered to be "ugly."
Banks later said that this was a very difficult period for her & she developed
a "very strong self-image problem."
In 1991, Banks was about to begin
her freshman year at Loyola Marymount University when Elite Model Management gave
the 17-year-old her first modeling job. Prior to this entry into the fashion world,
Banks had been rejected several times for modeling assignments. Some had objected
to Banks' high forehead. In fact, she states that she did not consider her first
job to be the start of a long career in fashion: "An agent saw pictures of
me & said that I was the only girl she wanted to take back to Paris... I didn't
leave thinking I was going to be some big fashion model. I just wanted to make
money for college."
Banks' career took off when she made the move from
high-fashion to a commercial market. She was the first African-American to be
featured on the covers of GQ & the Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, but
is most noted for her work as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Victoria's
Secret model, & talk-show hostess. In 1997 she won the prestigious Michael
Award for "Supermodel of the Year". Banks has done runway shows in Paris,
Milan, London, Tokyo & the U.S. & has been featured in many magazines,
television commercials, & on billboard advertisements. Her modeling credits
include runway & /or print work for Cover Girl, Swatch, Pepsi, Nike, Inc.,
XOXO, LensCrafters, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria's Secret, Ralph Lauren, Dolce &
Gabbana, Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Escada, Anna Sui, Michael Kors, Liz Claiborne,
& Richard Tyler (designer). Banks has appeared on many international magazines,
including the covers of Vogue, ELLE, Amica, ELLEgirl, L'Officiel, Harper's Bazaar,
Photo, Cosmopolitan, Essence, & Sports Illustrated.
Banks stood out from
the stick-thin waiflike models who were in Vogue when she first entered the modeling
industry, & had to work hard to persuade modeling agencies to take a chance
on her more voluptuous physique. To give herself more options, Banks decided to
branch out from high fashion into the commercial fashion industry. She later commented:
" I told my agency to call Victoria's Secret, & I told them to call Sports
Illustrated... I said [that] my body is changing, & seamstresses are calling
me 'grosso' in Italian, & I know what the hell that means. & I'm not about
to starve."
Banks addressed her physique in an interview with The Sun,
saying, "I am totally against plastic surgery. A lot of people think I have
breast implants because I have the biggest boobs in the business. But I was a
34C when I was 17. They stay up when I wear a push-up bra. But if people could
see me when I come home & take off my bra, how could they think these are
fake?". She is known for being proud of her more curvaceous body type, &
once commented, "Some models are quite flat-chested so they can run around
without bouncing. I can't. Black women don't have the same body image problems
as white women. They are proud of their bodies."
Despite her phenomenal
success as a supermodel, Banks began venturing from modeling to becoming a so-called
media "personality" after 2000. She is the hostess, head judge, &
an executive producer of the UPN (now the CW) television show America's Next Top
Model. She also receives executive producer credits for all ANTM spinoffs. Banks
also enjoyed a brief stint as a recording artist. During season two of America's
Next Top Model, the contestants danced in her first music video for the single
Shake Ya Body (Music Video) produced by experienced record producer Darkchild.
Banks also acts as the patron for TZONE[1], a leadership program created by Banks
for young girls that according to the organization, "reinforces core values
of trust & support, challenges teen girls to resist negative social pressures,
& enhances self-empowerment-inspiring girls to become confident leaders in
their communities." She has also established the Tyra Banks Scholarship,
a fund aimed at providing African-American girls the opportunity to attend her
alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School.
Banks retired from modeling in May
2005. She made her final walk down the runway at the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion
Show. Banks said the reason she retired from the runway was so she could concentrate
more on her television show.
Banks' television career began on the fourth season
of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played Jackie, Will's ex-girlfriend.
She also appeared on Felicity. She is now the executive producer, host & head
judge of the hit TV show America's Next Top Model. She also currently hosts The
Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talk show which premiered on September 12, 2005 &
recently began its second season. The show now drew over 1.9 million viewers.
The show features stories about everyday people mixed in with celebrity interviews,
much like the early format of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Under the slogan "Every
woman has a story," Banks promotes her show using emotional flashbacks to
her own childhood & adolescence. Many of the episodes deal with issues facing
women today. She once starred in an episode of MADtv. Banks has also starred as
the fictitious brought to life doll 'Eve' in the Disney film Life-Size, along
side Lindsay Lohan. She also appeared on Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out, as a special
guest host / team captain.
Banks appeared in Michael Jackson's "Black
or White" video in a scene in which Glen Chin morphs into her, in George
Michael's "Too Funky" video (with fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista),
& in a Lionel Richie video. In 2004, she recorded her first single, Shake
Ya Body, which had a music video featuring the America's Next Top Model, Cycle
2 contestants, which was world premiere on UPN, but the single was a failure for
Banks. She has also had a single with NBA star Kobe Bryant, "K.O.B.E. which
was preformed on NBA.Tv," & has a single/soundtrack from the Disney movie
Life-Size, called "Be A Star". She also sang in the musical/movie "Eight
Crazy Nights". She quoted on her show to Carmen Electra, "Girl, that
makes the two of us with music videos that people didn't like." On her interview
with JET, she said she hopes to have an album & has recorded many songs, 5
of them on her upcoming album, T.Y.R.A.
Recorded Tracks
· "Feelin
U" ft Wyclef Jean
· "Baby" (Banks intentional 2nd single.
This song has been leaked into the internet)
· "Beautiful"
(Banks next single)
· "How U Doin Dat" ft Timbaland
·
"Kinda Hot"
Banks has had minor roles in a few movies over the years.
Her debut in movies came in 1995 when she co-starred in the critically acclaimed
drama Higher Learning. She also co-starred with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film
Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life. She co-starred in 1999's
Love Stinks, 2000's Coyote Ugly, & 2002's Halloween: Resurrection - the eighth
film in the Halloween franchise.
Banks has been romantically involved with
a number of public figures (including director John Singleton, investment banker
Craig Davis, basketball player Chris Webber, & musician Seal). Though she
has stated that she prefers to date non-celebrities, as she strongly dislikes
& wishes to avoid the intense pressure & media scrutiny that come with
being in a relationship with another famous person. On May 8, 2006, Banks was
named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.
She
has an extreme phobia of dolphins, a fear she faced in her daytime talk show.
Banks recently stated that she would not allow any future photographs of herself
to be digitally touched up; rather, she will rely solely on makeup & hairstyling
to enhance her appearance. Pictures released in late 2006 showed a significant
weight gain; Banks said that she was "upset" when rude comments were
posted on a gossip website
According to the December 5, 2006 edition of Entertainment
Tonight, she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up.
Tyra also works
as a photographer & a motivational speaker for young girls in her spare time.
After
a recent paparazzi photo which showed Tyra wearing a bathing suit in Sydney, which
people thought that Banks has gained weight up to 200 lbs., & she has losen
up her supermodel body type. Tyra was later featured on the cover of People Magazine
& said "You call this fat?". Tyra is currently 161 lbs.
Filmography
·
Higher Learning (1995) · A Woman Like That (1997) · Love Stinks
(1999) · Love & Basketball (2000) · Coyote Ugly (2000) ·
Halloween: Resurrection (2002) · Eight Crazy Nights (2002) (voice) ·
Larceny (2004) Television work· Inferno (1992) · Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air (1993) · The Apartment Complex (1999) · Life-Size (2000)
· America's Next Top Model (2003-present) · The Tyra Banks Show
(2005-present)
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