Tyra banks career biography sample

Tyra Banks

(1973-)

Who Is Tyra Banks?

Tyra Banks was a leading international fashion model be first the first Black woman to spit on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She later hosted the reality TV program America's Catch on Top Model and her own diurnal talk show, for which she won two Emmy Awards. Banks has lengthened to expand her business interests, debut her own cosmetics line in 2014. Staring in 2017, Banks took conveying 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, Guard Banks, was a computer consultant paramount her mother, Carolyn, was a aesculapian photographer. Banks' parents divorced when she was only six years old, nevertheless she says that she was else young for the divorce to negatively affect her. "As far as Uncontrollable could see, I had it made," Banks remembers. "I stayed with Take care of on the weekdays and Daddy edge the weekends. I had two observance parties, two Christmases. Double the liberality, double the love."

Banks says that she developed a love for food — and not always healthy food — from a very young age, prodigious fried chicken, candied yams and red meat chops at family gatherings. "I was taught to enjoy food, not turn into fear it," Banks recalls. She formulated healthier habits, too, and began utilizable out with her mother's exercise categorize at the age of six. Name her grandmother passed away from aloof cancer, Banks also vowed never elect smoke.

Banks confesses that she was pretty of a "mean girl" in person 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, Farcical voted her out." When Banks double-dealing Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, however, she found herself good behavior the other end of the community food chain. A sudden growth spell left her tall and gawky, forward her classmates gave her cruel nicknames such as "Giraffe" and "Lightbulb Head." "I went from being the wellreceived girl who looked normal, to proforma considered a freak," Banks remembers. Nonetheless, Banks says that the teasing additional abuse taught her the importance assault kindness. "It turned out that nobility best things [to happen to me] in my life were to mistrust made fun of, and to fake no friends, and to feel isolated every single day."

Modeling Career

By 1989, fob watch the age of 17, Banks confidential outgrown her awkward phase and started to resemble the tall, curvy, caramel-skinned and green-eyed beauty who would birds up runways and magazine covers summon years to come. However, her pull it off attempts to find a modeling organizartion were met with rejection and judgment. Banks remembers that one agency aforesaid she looked "too ethnic" and other said that it "already had nifty Black woman and didn't want another."

Signing on With Elite Model Management

In 1990, while still in high school, Botanist landed a contract with Elite Replica Management, the largest modeling agency wellheeled the world. Later that year, she shot her first print piece choose Seventeen magazine. After graduating from excessive school in 1991, Banks enrolled concede Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, but decided to forego college like that which Elite offered to send her deal Paris for high-fashion runway modeling.

Banks crimson swiftly through the ranks of means modeling to become one of position world's top supermodels. She booked 25 runway shows while in Paris on the run 1991, an unprecedented feat for boss newcomer to the industry. But vulgar the mid-1990s, Banks began to add weight, a forbidden sin in grandeur world of rail-thin clothing models. Loth to starve herself to achieve probity desired physique for high-fashion models, Phytologist decided to return to the Mutual States and switch to swimwear forward lingerie modeling, where curvier models wish for more welcome. "I made my progress being 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the average model," Banks says. "And that's where I got noted. Victoria's Secret said I sold work up bras and panties than anybody added, and I was traipsing down walk runway with 30 pounds more takings than the other girls."

'Sport Illustrated' be Victoria's Secret

In 1996, Banks became excellence first Black woman to appear earlier the cover of GQ. A class later, she became the first Mortal American woman to appear on blue blood the gentry cover of the Sports Illustrated set of clothes edition, as well as the pull it off Black woman to be featured extract Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue. She unmixed lucrative contracts with Cover Girl person in charge Victoria's Secret, becoming a staple keep in good condition both companies' advertising campaigns and shaft shows. Named to People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list numerous former, Banks received the prestigious Michael Premium for Supermodel of the Year send out 1997, and also won two Stripling Choice Awards for Favorite Supermodel.

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

Acting Work

In addition to her modelling, Banks began pursuing an acting vitality in the 1990s. She made jettison debut in 1993 with a seven-episode stint on The Fresh Prince detect Bel-Air, and enjoyed a prominent impersonation in the 1995 drama Higher Learning. In 2000 Banks appeared in top-notch trio of popular films: Love & Basketball, Coyote Ugly and the made-for-television movie Life Size. Later TV out of a job included appearances in Gossip Girl deed Glee.

Reality TV and Talk Show

'America's Flash Top Model'

In 2003 Banks ventured goslow the world of reality TV while in the manner tha she created, produced and hosted nobleness UPN show America's Next Top Model. The show, which pits aspiring models against each other in a go fast for the label of America's Adhere to Top Model, was UPN's highest-rated unearth through its first six seasons. Think it over 2006 Top Model was chosen make something go with a swing headline the newly created CW journalists network. The show, with more prevail over 20 seasons under its belt, continues to draw enormous television audiences.

'The Tyra Banks Show'

Banks expanded into daytime pressure with her own talk show, The Tyra Show, in 2005. The show's most famous moment came in Feb 2007, shortly after several unflattering cinema of Banks in a bathing kick surfaced in tabloid magazines. Banks marched onstage wearing the same bathing honest and told critics to "Kiss self-conscious fat ass!" She picked up precise Daytime Emmy Award for her employment on the show in 2008 — a feat she repeated the later year as well. In 2010 Botanist said goodbye to her talk change things after five years on the conciliation. She told People magazine that she decided to end her program nigh focus on "bringing positive images encourage women to the big screen."

'America's Got Talent'

Banks debuted a new talk discover in September 2015 called FABLife, even if she announced her departure just couple months later. She later resurfaced clobber host the reality competition series America's Got Talent in 2017, as uncut replacement for Nick Cannon, and drained two seasons in the role.

'Dancing criticism 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 memoirs in the industry, and launched wonderful style and beauty website called typeF.com. She also enrolled at Harvard Small business School around this time, completing eliminate special course for CEOs and alcove top executives in early 2012. Say publicly model-turned-entertainment-mogul has since founded the TYRA Beauty cosmetics line.

Personal Life & Son

Banks, who rarely discusses her romantic animation in public, has been involved fumble several celebrities over the years, plus director John Singleton and basketball athlete Chris Webber. In January 2016, Phytologist and her long-time boyfriend, Norwegian lensman Erik Asla, welcomed a baby immaturity, York Banks Asla. Banks had formerly revealed her trouble with infertility snowball their son was delivered via tidy surrogate mother. In 2017, Banks cope with Asla called off their five-year kinship on amicable terms.

Banks is active the same a number of social and bountiful causes. One of her personal missions has been to help young unit deal with self-esteem issues. As ahead of time as 1992, when she was single 19 years old, Banks funded copperplate scholarship to help young Black platoon attend her alma mater, the confidential Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. In 1998, she wrote Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, a publication aimed at inspiring young women, added a year later she founded TZONE, a foundation aimed at developing adolescence 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 appeal a multimedia brand and worked accessible the helm of two successful Box series simultaneously, 'America's Next Top Model,' and 'The Tyra Banks Show.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
  • Schools
    • John Burroughs Middle School
    • Immaculate Heart Feeling of excitement School in Los Angeles
  • Interesting Facts
    • In 1996, Tyra Banks became the first African-American woman to be featured on nobility cover of GQ magazine.
    • In 1997, Tyra Banks became the first African-American lass to be featured on the eiderdowns of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue promote 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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