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
You are not here because you take bad pictures, but because of something we call lack of persona.
I have a big forehead, and I got made fun of all time. When I was a little girl, they used to call me 'five-head.'
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.
On 'America's Top Model,' I've always told my girls to smile with their eyes. We call it 'smizing.' Over the years, it's actually become part of pop culture. I would be walking down the street, and girls would say, 'Smize!'
With 'America's Next Top Model,' I've always cast girls who the industry might call 'plus size' but I like to call 'fiercely real.' That was always important to me.
I'm very comfortable speaking to millions of people, but not comfortable in a small, intimate social setting. Like cocktail hour. I get very panicky.
I'm not afraid of wanting money at all. Money will give me more power to do things that are truer to my spirit than what I'm already doing.
I know the pain of somebody who's too thin and the pain of somebody that people say is too big.
I know some women are intimidated by makeup.
I'm not led by money, because if that's the case, I can throw my name on everything and have a million-dollar company.
I learned my ABCs, 1-2-3 from 'Sesame Street.'
I'm frugal. I've always been this way. When I was young, my mom would give me my allowance, and I'd peel off a little each week and have some to spare.
I had no idea people were that blatant.
I'm tired of this rumor. It's something that's followed me forever,