Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks - Black Women, Family and Childhood

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Tyra Banks's Personal Details

Tyra Banks is an American former supermodel, actor, author, producer, entrepreneur, and television personality

InformationDetail
BirthdayDecember 4, 1973
NationalityAmerican
FamousFashion, Models, Actresses, Black Women, Television Personality
City/StateCalifornia
SiblingsDevin Banks
Known asTyra Lynne Banks
Universities
  • Harvard Business School
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Immaculate Heart High School
  • John Burroughs Middle School
Birth PlaceInglewood, California, United States
Height178
GenderFemale
FatherDonald Banks
MotherCarolyn London
Net Worth$90 million as of May 31,2017
Sun SignSagittarius
Born inInglewood, California, United States
Famous asTelevision Personality
Socials

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Tyra Banks's photo

Who is Tyra Banks?

Tyra Banks is an American former supermodel, actor, author, producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. She is best known for creating, producing and presenting the long-running reality television series 'America's Next Top Model'. She also created and hosted the twice Emmy winning daytime talk-show, 'The Tyra Banks Show', for five years. Banks, who gained recognition as a supermodel, originally wanted to be a writer or producer working in the film industry. Being teased by her older brother as well as her peers for her disproportionate body shape and dark skin color, she hardly ever imagined modeling as a career option until she was encouraged by a classmate and became aware of her potential. Despite initial discouragement from professionals, she eventually bagged a high profile modeling assignment after a French scout spotted her. She went on to model for every leading clothing line and was featured on the covers of prestigious magazines like 'GQ' and 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue' as the first black woman. Over the years, she has dabbled at everything from writing, singing, acting, to teaching. However, it is her genuine personality, rather than her outward beauty, that helped her make into 'TIME' magazine's list of most influential people.

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Childhood & Early Life

Tyra Lynne Banks was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California, to Carolyn London and Donald Banks. Her mother was a medical photographer, while her father worked as a computer consultant.

She is the second child of her parents and has a five years older brother, Devin. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, following which she and her brother lived with her mother on weekdays and visited her father on weekends.

She initially attended John Burroughs Middle School and later got into Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, from which she graduated in 1991. Around the time she was 11, she faced body-shaming after a sudden growth spurt made her tall and skinny.

Tyra Banks, who was good enough to be selected into all major universities she applied for, chose Loyola Marymount University for film studies. However, she moved to Paris even before starting college, after a French modeling agent selected her for the upcoming Paris fashion week.

Modeling Career

Tyra Banks started her modeling career at the age of 15, while she was still in school. After being rejected by four modeling agencies, she was signed to L.A. Models.

In 1990, she bagged a contract with Elite Model Management, following which she was offered the opportunity to model in Europe and subsequently moved to Milan. The next year, she achieved the remarkable feat of booking 25 runway shows as a newcomer in the 1991 Paris Fashion Week.

Reluctant to follow a strict diet to stay skinny as required by the industry, she decided to return to the USA in the mid 1990s to pursue a career in swimwear and lingerie modeling. In 1993, she became the first African-American model to sign a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics.

'People' magazine named her one of '50 Most Beautiful People in the World' in 1994. As the first African-American model, she featured on the covers of 'GQ' magazine in 1996 and the 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue' in 1997.

In 1997, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel and was featured in Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue as the first black woman. The same year, she was named 'Supermodel of the Year' by VH1. She subsequently left modeling to focus on other career choices, but re-signed to her former modeling agency IMG Models in 2010.

Television & Film Career

Tyra Banks debuted on television in 1993, appearing alongside Will Smith on the fourth season of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'. She continued to appear on various television shows such as 'New York Undercover' (1997), 'Just Shoot Me!' (1999), 'MADtv' (2000), 'Felicity' (2000), and 'Soul Food' (2001).

In 1995, she debuted on the big screen with the movie 'Higher Learning'. After a few smaller roles in movies like 'Love Stinks' and 'Love & Basketball', she bagged the major role of Eve in the Disney Channel telefilm 'Life-Size' in 2000. The same year, she appeared as Zoe in the commercially successful movie 'Coyote Ugly'.

She soon founded her own production company, 'Bankable Productions', through which she created and executive produced the reality television series 'America's Next Top Model' in 2003. She hosted the show herself in the first 22 seasons, till 2015, and later returned as a host in the 24th season in 2017.

In 2005, she created her own talk show, 'The Tyra Banks Show', which focused on issues faced by young women. The show, which won two back-to-back Daytime Emmy awards, ran for five seasons.

She co-created the show 'True Beauty' with actor Ashton Kutcher in 2009. She went on to appear on many TV series like 'Gossip Girl' (2009), 'Shake It Up' (2012-13), 'Glee' (2013) and 'Blackish' (2015-16), and co-hosted the show 'FABLife' for two months in 2015.

She is scheduled to replace Nick Cannon as the main host of 'America's Got Talent' in 2017.

Other Ventures

Tyra Banks sang the single 'Be a Star' from the soundtrack of her 2000 movie 'Life-Size'. In 2004, she formally debuted as a singer by introducing her first single 'Shake Ya Body' on 'America's Next Top Model'. She also recorded the single 'K.O.B.E.' with NBA player Kobe Bryant.

She tried her hand at writing for the first time in 1998 when she co-authored the book 'Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out'. Over a decade later, she chronicled her experience as a model in the novel 'Modelland', which ranked No.1 on 'The New York Times Best Seller' list in October 2011.

In 2012, she earned a certificate from Harvard Business School, attending a nine-week Owner/President Management Program, and founded the cosmetics brand 'Tyra Beauty' in 2014. The next year, she opened the interactive cosmetic e-commerce site 'tyra.com'.

Major Works

'America's Next Top Model' is by far Tyra Banks' most successful venture so far. The show has been running for 15 years and has been rated the No.1 show on The CW network multiple times.

Awards & Achievements

Tyra Banks won the 'Teen Choice Award' in the category 'Choice TV: Personality' twice in 2007 and 2008. Her talk show won two 'Daytime Emmy Awards' for 'Outstanding Talk Show/Informative' in 2008 and 2009.

She is one of four African-American women to appear on the list of the most influential people by TIME magazine.

Personal Life & Legacy

Tyra Banks has been linked with many celebrities in the past, including director John Singleton and basketball player Chris Webber. While she avoids discussing her private issues publicly, she revealed in 2005 that she has experienced emotional abuse earlier.

She started dating Norwegian photographer Erik Asla in 2013. Banks, who had trouble conceiving, gave birth to son York Banks Asla through a surrogate mother in January 2016.

Trivia

In February 2007, Tyra Banks was fat-shamed after some of her pictures in bathing suit were published on tabloid magazines. She unabashedly flaunted the same swimsuits on her show, earning accolades from critics as well as her audience.

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Tyra Banks biography timelines

  • // 4th Dec 1973
    Tyra Lynne Banks was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California, to Carolyn London and Donald Banks. Her mother was a medical photographer, while her father worked as a computer consultant.
  • // 1990 To 1991
    In 1990, she bagged a contract with Elite Model Management, following which she was offered the opportunity to model in Europe and subsequently moved to Milan. The next year, she achieved the remarkable feat of booking 25 runway shows as a newcomer in the 1991 Paris Fashion Week.
  • // 1991
    She initially attended John Burroughs Middle School and later got into Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, from which she graduated in 1991. Around the time she was 11, she faced body-shaming after a sudden growth spurt made her tall and skinny.
  • // 1993
    Reluctant to follow a strict diet to stay skinny as required by the industry, she decided to return to the USA in the mid 1990s to pursue a career in swimwear and lingerie modeling. In 1993, she became the first African-American model to sign a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics.
  • // 1995 To 2000
    In 1995, she debuted on the big screen with the movie 'Higher Learning'. After a few smaller roles in movies like 'Love Stinks' and 'Love & Basketball', she bagged the major role of Eve in the Disney Channel telefilm 'Life-Size' in 2000. The same year, she appeared as Zoe in the commercially successful movie 'Coyote Ugly'.
  • // 1997 To 2010
    In 1997, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel and was featured in Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue as the first black woman. The same year, she was named 'Supermodel of the Year' by VH1. She subsequently left modeling to focus on other career choices, but re-signed to her former modeling agency IMG Models in 2010.
  • // 1998 To Oct 2011
    She tried her hand at writing for the first time in 1998 when she co-authored the book 'Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out'. Over a decade later, she chronicled her experience as a model in the novel 'Modelland', which ranked No.1 on 'The New York Times Best Seller' list in October 2011.
  • // 2000 To 2004
    Tyra Banks sang the single 'Be a Star' from the soundtrack of her 2000 movie 'Life-Size'. In 2004, she formally debuted as a singer by introducing her first single 'Shake Ya Body' on 'America's Next Top Model'. She also recorded the single 'K.O.B.E.' with NBA player Kobe Bryant.
  • // 2005
    In 2005, she created her own talk show, 'The Tyra Banks Show', which focused on issues faced by young women. The show, which won two back-to-back Daytime Emmy awards, ran for five seasons.
  • // 2005
    Tyra Banks has been linked with many celebrities in the past, including director John Singleton and basketball player Chris Webber. While she avoids discussing her private issues publicly, she revealed in 2005 that she has experienced emotional abuse earlier.
  • // Feb 2007
    In February 2007, Tyra Banks was fat-shamed after some of her pictures in bathing suit were published on tabloid magazines. She unabashedly flaunted the same swimsuits on her show, earning accolades from critics as well as her audience.
  • // 2012 To 2014
    In 2012, she earned a certificate from Harvard Business School, attending a nine-week Owner/President Management Program, and founded the cosmetics brand 'Tyra Beauty' in 2014. The next year, she opened the interactive cosmetic e-commerce site 'tyra.com'.
  • // 2013 To Jan 2016
    She started dating Norwegian photographer Erik Asla in 2013. Banks, who had trouble conceiving, gave birth to son York Banks Asla through a surrogate mother in January 2016.
  • // 2017
    She is scheduled to replace Nick Cannon as the main host of 'America's Got Talent' in 2017.

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Tyra Banks's FAQ

  • What is Tyra Banks birthday?

    Tyra Banks was born at 1973-12-04

  • Where is Tyra Banks's birth place?

    Tyra Banks was born in Inglewood, California, United States

  • What is Tyra Banks nationalities?

    Tyra Banks's nationalities is American

  • Who is Tyra Banks siblings?

    Tyra Banks's siblings is Devin Banks

  • What was Tyra Banks universities?

    Tyra Banks studied at Harvard Business School, Loyola Marymount University, Immaculate Heart High School, John Burroughs Middle School

  • How tall is Tyra Banks?

    Tyra Banks's height is 178

  • Who is Tyra Banks's father?

    Tyra Banks's father is Donald Banks

  • Who is Tyra Banks's mother?

    Tyra Banks's mother is Carolyn London

  • What is Tyra Banks's sun sign?

    Tyra Banks is Sagittarius

  • How famous is Tyra Banks?

    Tyra Banks is famouse as Television Personality

  • What is Tyra Banks's facebook?

    Tyra Banks's facebook is https://www.facebook.com/TyraBanks/

  • What is Tyra Banks's twitter?

    Tyra Banks's twitter is https://twitter.com/tyrabeauty/

  • What is Tyra Banks's youtube?

    Tyra Banks's youtube is https://www.youtube.com/user/tyrabanks/

  • What is Tyra Banks's instagram?

    Tyra Banks's instagram is https://www.instagram.com/tyrabanks/