Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, television personality, talk show host, producer, author, actress, singer and business woman. She began her career as a model at age 15, and became the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared twice. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the top-earning models in the world...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Show Host
Date of Birth4 December 1973
CityInglewood, CA
CountryUnited States of America
When I announced that I wanted to do a talk show, a lot of people were very skeptical, which, of course, I understand, ... I think I'm very good at stepping outside of myself and seeing what I think other people perceive and they perceive a girl that has modeled half of her life and that's pretty much it.
When modeling agencies were saying that I was too big and gaining weight, my mom said, 'OK, we're going to discuss what they're saying over pizza, and we're going to plan the future of your career which doesn't involve you having to be skinny.'
When I went to Paris after graduating high school, I saw a model who was 12 years old without any supervision. That wouldn't happen in the acting world.
I would not recommend a teen getting into modeling if they're not solid when it comes to their grades and school. That comes first. My mother always told me that came first.
I used to say in interviews that I don't necessarily want to be the first black woman or first model to do certain things; I just want to see it done.
I have a long list of different smiles that you can do, and every model should be equipped. Everybody can't handle the long list... That's for, you know, advanced.
Years ago, when I first started wearing hair extensions, I would get mail from young girls, or young girls would come up to me and they would say, 'Tyra you have the most beautiful hair, like I could never grow hair like that!' And I would say 'Child, this is a weave!'
When I was a young girl, I lost a lot of weight over one summer - involuntarily - and was just really depressed and sad. There was nothing I could do to gain weight. I would look in the mirror and call myself disgusting every day.
Sometimes you gotta leave when you're on top.
Just because you don't know if other people are experiencing the same thing as you are, it doesn't mean that it's not happening. Everybody doesn't necessarily share everything. Just know that what you're going through, other people are going through it, too.
Believe it or not, I don't wake up looking like a supermodel.
I don't have to have a child come from my womb to have a connection. Children that are already born are beautiful to me. I can definitely be a mother to them.
I don't know how to be sexy on a date. Put up a camera and a wind machine, and I'll give you sexy. Put me at a dinner table with some candlelight and the moon shining in and, oh, I will give you dork.
I just think, as a model, it's taught me to be a master of deception and illusion.