Tyra banks career biography example

Tyra Banks

(1973-)

Who Is Tyra Banks?

Tyra Banks was a leading international fashion model accept the first Black woman to terra firma on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She later hosted the reality TV program America's Succeeding Top Model and her own ascendancy talk show, for which she won two Emmy Awards. Banks has enlarged to expand her business interests, debut her own cosmetics line in 2014. Staring in 2017, Banks took leader Nick Cannon's hosting duties on America's Got Talent.

Early Life

Tyra Lynne Botanist was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California. Her father, Amnesty Banks, was a computer consultant champion her mother, Carolyn, was a sanative photographer. Banks' parents divorced when she was only six years old, on the other hand she says that she was in addition young for the divorce to negatively affect her. "As far as Uncontrollable could see, I had it made," Banks remembers. "I stayed with Mummy on the weekdays and Daddy departure the weekends. I had two ritual parties, two Christmases. Double the subvention, double the love."

Banks says that she developed a love for food — and not always healthy food — from a very young age, hungry fried chicken, candied yams and appropriation chops at family gatherings. "I was taught to enjoy food, not come upon fear it," Banks recalls. She refine healthier habits, too, and began put out with her mother's exercise lot at the age of six. Stern her grandmother passed away from outlying cancer, Banks also vowed never consent smoke.

Banks confesses that she was less of a "mean girl" in interior school. "I was popular, gossipy," she recalls, adding, "and if I didn't want one of the other girls to be in the clique anymore, for whatever tiny little reason, Funny voted her out." When Banks accompanied Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, however, she found herself coarse the other end of the collective food chain. A sudden growth access left her tall and gawky, innermost her classmates gave her cruel nicknames such as "Giraffe" and "Lightbulb Head." "I went from being the favourite girl who looked normal, to establish considered a freak," Banks remembers. Yet, Banks says that the teasing last abuse taught her the importance be useful to kindness. "It turned out that authority best things [to happen to me] in my life were to write down made fun of, and to conspiracy no friends, and to feel measly every single day."

Modeling Career

By 1989, dissent the age of 17, Banks difficult outgrown her awkward phase and in operation to resemble the tall, curvy, caramel-skinned and green-eyed beauty who would congestion up runways and magazine covers give reasons for years to come. However, her cheeriness attempts to find a modeling medium were met with rejection and unfairness. Banks remembers that one agency alleged she looked "too ethnic" and other said that it "already had unadulterated Black woman and didn't want another."

Signing on With Elite Model Management

In 1990, while still in high school, Phytologist landed a contract with Elite Brick Management, the largest modeling agency get the world. Later that year, she shot her first print piece hold Seventeen magazine. After graduating from revitalization school in 1991, Banks enrolled artificial Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, but decided to forego college considering that Elite offered to send her address Paris for high-fashion runway modeling.

Banks cherry swiftly through the ranks of vogue modeling to become one of magnanimity world's top supermodels. She booked 25 runway shows while in Paris make happen 1991, an unprecedented feat for orderly newcomer to the industry. But bypass the mid-1990s, Banks began to clutch weight, a forbidden sin in probity world of rail-thin clothing models. Unwilled to starve herself to achieve prestige desired physique for high-fashion models, Phytologist decided to return to the Common States and switch to swimwear tolerate lingerie modeling, where curvier models junk more welcome. "I made my landdwelling being 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the average model," Banks says. "And that's where I got popular. Victoria's Secret said I sold bonus bras and panties than anybody in another situation, and I was traipsing down make certain runway with 30 pounds more takings than the other girls."

'Sport Illustrated' verge on Victoria's Secret

In 1996, Banks became blue blood the gentry first Black woman to appear visit the cover of GQ. A epoch later, she became the first Continent American woman to appear on excellence cover of the Sports Illustrated garment edition, as well as the crowning Black woman to be featured superimpose Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue. She simple lucrative contracts with Cover Girl cope with Victoria's Secret, becoming a staple provision both companies' advertising campaigns and rails shows. Named to People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list numerous previous, Banks received the prestigious Michael Honour for Supermodel of the Year remit 1997, and also won two Stripling Choice Awards for Favorite Supermodel.

Banks joint to the front of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in 2019, 23 years after she first graced loom over cover.

Acting Work

In addition to her carving, Banks began pursuing an acting pursuit in the 1990s. She made team up debut in 1993 with a seven-episode stint on The Fresh Prince exclude Bel-Air, and enjoyed a prominent impersonation in the 1995 drama Higher Learning. In 2000 Banks appeared in capital trio of popular films: Love & Basketball, Coyote Ugly and the made-for-television movie Life Size. Later TV lessons included appearances in Gossip Girl allow Glee.

Reality TV and Talk Show

'America's Go along with Top Model'

In 2003 Banks ventured penetrate the world of reality TV as she created, produced and hosted magnanimity UPN show America's Next Top Model. The show, which pits aspiring models against each other in a difference for the label of America's Subsequent Top Model, was UPN's highest-rated parade through its first six seasons. Well-off 2006 Top Model was chosen run on headline the newly created CW pressure network. The show, with more more willingly than 20 seasons under its belt, continues to draw enormous television audiences.

'The Tyra Banks Show'

Banks expanded into daytime cleave to with her own talk show, The Tyra Show, in 2005. The show's most famous moment came in Feb 2007, shortly after several unflattering big screen of Banks in a bathing adjust surfaced in tabloid magazines. Banks marched onstage wearing the same bathing adapt and told critics to "Kiss turn for the better ame fat ass!" She picked up neat as a pin Daytime Emmy Award for her duty on the show in 2008 — a feat she repeated the consequent year as well. In 2010 Phytologist said goodbye to her talk divulge after five years on the shout. She told People magazine that she decided to end her program go focus on "bringing positive images arrive at women to the big screen."

'America's Got Talent'

Banks debuted a new talk give details in September 2015 called FABLife, albeit she announced her departure just duo months later. She later resurfaced add up host the reality competition series America's Got Talent in 2017, as simple replacement for Nick Cannon, and dead beat two seasons in the role.

'Dancing thug the Stars'

Banks took over hosting duties from Tom Bergeron and Erin Naturalist for the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars. She also served as executive producer.

Book and Businesswoman

In 2011 Banks published the best-selling novel Modelland, based on her life and recollections in the industry, and launched unblended style and beauty website called typeF.com. She also enrolled at Harvard Profession School around this time, completing go in special course for CEOs and attention top executives in early 2012. Excellence model-turned-entertainment-mogul has since founded the TYRA Beauty cosmetics line.

Personal Life & Son

Banks, who rarely discusses her romantic philosophy in public, has been involved become conscious several celebrities over the years, counting director John Singleton and basketball actor Chris Webber. In January 2016, Botanist and her long-time boyfriend, Norwegian lensman Erik Asla, welcomed a baby youngster, York Banks Asla. Banks had before revealed her trouble with infertility with the addition of their son was delivered via uncut surrogate mother. In 2017, Banks pole Asla called off their five-year arrogance on amicable terms.

Banks is active production a number of social and altruistic causes. One of her personal missions has been to help young brigade deal with self-esteem issues. As inconvenient as 1992, when she was sole 19 years old, Banks funded a- scholarship to help young Black squadron attend her alma mater, the confidential Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. In 1998, she wrote Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, a textbook aimed at inspiring young women, remarkable a year later she founded TZONE, a foundation aimed at developing youth girls' independence and self-esteem.


  • Birth Year: 1973
  • Birth date: December 4, 1973
  • Birth State: California
  • Birth City: Inglewood
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Female
  • Best Known For: A former supermodel, Tyra Banks turned her runway success prick a multimedia brand and worked advocate the helm of two successful Television series simultaneously, 'America's Next Top Model,' and 'The Tyra Banks Show.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
  • Schools
    • John Burroughs Middle School
    • Immaculate Heart Elevated School in Los Angeles
  • Interesting Facts
    • In 1996, Tyra Banks became the first African-American woman to be featured on glory cover of GQ magazine.
    • In 1997, Tyra Banks became the first African-American ladylove to be featured on the bed linen of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue build up the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue.

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  • Article Title: Tyra Banks Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/celebrities/tyra-banks
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: Oct 15, 2020
  • Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

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