Tyra Banks Biography
Biography
|
Tyra Banks was born in Los Angeles, California to Don Banks
and Carolyn London. Tyra Banks was raised in Inglewood,
California with her brother Devin, and attended Immaculate Heart
High School, an all-girls, independent Catholic private school
in Los Angeles. Growing up, she was very thin and often teased;
she was considered to be an "ugly duckling." Tyra later said
that this was a very difficult time for her and she developed a
"very strong self-image problem." Banks has publicly stated that
she has an extreme fear of dolphins.
In 1991, Tyra was about to begin her freshman year at Claremont
McKenna College when Elite Model Management gave the 17-year-old
her first modeling job. Prior to this entry into the fashion
world, Tyra had been rejected several times for modeling
assignments. In fact, she states that she did not deem her first
job to be the start of a long career in fashion: "An agent saw
pictures of me and 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.
Tyra Banks' career took off when she made the move from
high-fashion to a commercial market. Tyra Banks was the first
African-American to be featured on the covers of GQ, Sports
Illustrated's swimsuit issue, but is most famous for her work as
a Victoria's Secret model. In 1997 she won the prestigious
Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year. Banks has done runway
shows in Paris, Milan, and the U.S. She has been featured in a
variety of magazines, commercials, and billboards. Tyra Banks's
modeling credits include runway and/or print work for CoverGirl,
Swatch, Pepsi, Nike, XOXO, LensCrafters, Tommy Hilfiger,
Victoria's Secret, Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves
Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Escada, Anna Sui, Liz Claiborne and
Richard Tyler. Banks has graced international fashion magazines,
including the covers of Vogue, ELLE, Amica, ELLEgirl, L'Officiel,
Harper's Bazaar, Photo, Cosmopolitan and Sports Illustrated.
In a time when waif fashion models were in prominence, Tyra
stood out with a more voluptuous physique at 5ft 11in tall and
reported measurements of 34˝-23˝-35˝. Banks had to work hard to
persuade fashion designers that her physique was well-suited to
the catwalk and ultimately walked for the best haute couture
designers all over the world. Later on in her career, Banks
decided that the world of high-fashion was no longer something
she wished to pursue and so began seeking work in the commercial
side of fashion. She says: "I was proactive [...] I told my
agency to call Victoria's Secret, and I told them to call Sports
Illustrated [...] I said my body is changing, and seamstresses
are calling me 'grosso' in Italian, and I know what the hell
that means. And I'm not about to starve."
Tyra 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
and take off my bra, how could they think these are fake?". She
is known for being openly proud of her body, once commenting,
"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. Black men love big butts, and they cannot lie."
Despite Tyra Banks's phenomenal success as a supermodel, Banks
began venturing from modeling to becoming a media personality
after 2000. Tyra Banks is the host, head judge, and an executive
producer of the UPN 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
and 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. Tyra also acts as the patron for TZONE, a leadership
program created by Banks for young girls that according to the
organization, "reinforces core values of trust and support,
challenges teen girls to resist negative social pressures, and
enhances self-empowerment—inspiring girls to become confident
leaders in their communities." Tyra Banks 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. Currently ranked #4 out of 25 as
the Sexiest Supermodels in the world, by models.com.
Tyra retired from modeling in 2005. She made her final walk down
the runway at the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Super model, Donfaye was Banks's friend. Tyra Banks' television
career began on the fourth season of
The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air, in which she played Jackie, Will's
ex-girlfriend. Tyra Banks also appeared on Felicity. As well as
her role as executive producer, host and head judge of the hit
TV show America's Next Top Model, she currently hosts The Tyra
Banks Show, a daytime talk show which premiered in the United
States on September 12, 2005 and has just been given the green
light for a second season. 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 promoted her show using
emotional flashbacks to her own childhood and adolescence. Many
of the episodes deal with issues facing women today and how she
loves using the term "dookie" to describe feces. Tyra Banks has
also starred in an old episode of MADtv. Tyra's has also starred
as the fictitious brought to life doll 'Eve' in the Disney film
Life-Size, along side
Lindsay Lohan.
Tyra appeared in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video in a
scene in which Glen Chin morphs into her, and with fellow
supermodel Linda Evangelista, in George Michael's "Too Funky"
video. In 2004, she recorded her first and, only single, Shake
Ya Body (Music Video). Tyra Banks had a failed pop career, which
she commented about in ANTM, "I don't know what I was thinking!
...models don't sing!" She has also had a single with NBA star
Kobe Bryant, "K.O.B.E.," and has a single/soundtrack from the
Disney movie Life-Size, called "Be A Star". In total, she has
recorded three songs.
Tyra has had minor roles in many films over the years. Her debut
in film came in 1995 when she co-starred in the critically
acclaimed drama Higher Learning. Tyra Banks 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 and 2002's Halloween: Resurrection – the
eighth film in the Halloween franchise.
Tyra has had a number of high-profile relationships with men,
including director John Singleton, investment banker Craig
Davis, basketballer Chris Webber, and Seal.
Tyra has expressed her preference for a relationship with a
'normal guy' in order to escape the pressures of being together
with another well-known celebrity and the media scrutiny that
comes with it. Tyra Banks says she wants a man who "knows how to
appreciate natural curves when he sees them."
On May 8, 2006, Banks was named as one of the world's 100 most
influential people in TIME magazine.
TV Series/Movies List for Tyra Banks
- Inferno (1992)
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993) "You've Got to Be a Football Hero", "Take My Cousin... Please", "Fresh Prince After Dark", "Blood Is Thicker Than Mud", "Father of the Year", "All Guts, No Glory", "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" as Jackie Ames
- New York Undercover (1997) "Descell", "Hubris", "Outrage" as Natasha Claybourne
- The Hughleys (1999) "Sap and the Star" as Nicole
- The Apartment Complex (1999)
- Mad TV (2000) "Episode #5.25" as Katisha, "Episode #5.17"
- Felicity (2000) "A Good Egg", "Kissing Mr. Covington", "One Ball, Two Strikes" as Jane Scott
- Soul Food (2001) "Ordinary Pain" as Nina Joseph
- America's Next Top Model (2003-present) as Executive Producer, Host
- Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) as Executive Producer
- American Dreams (2004)
- Larceny (2004)
- All of Us (2004) "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as Roni
- The Tyra Banks Show (2005-present) as Executive Producer, Host''
- The Price Is Right (February 2006) as a guest Barker's Beauty
Film List for Tyra Banks
- Supermodels in the Rainforest: Costa Rica (1995) as herself
- Higher Learning (1995) as Deja
- A Woman Like That (1997)
- Love Stinks (1999) as Holly Garnett
- The Apartment Complex (1999) as Unkown Name
- Life-Size (2000) as Eve
- Love & Basketball (2000) as Kyra Kessler
- Coyote Ugly (2000) as Zoe
- Halloween: Resurrection (2002) as Nora Winston
- Eight Crazy Nights (2002) (voice) as Victoria's Secret Gown
This Tyra Banks Biography Page is Copyright The Planets © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub