Tyra Banks

When Tyra Banks was growing up, not many people would have suspected that a bright future in professional modeling awaited her upon graduation from high school. In fact, she was famously teased while growing up, being made fun of for her long legs and skinny physique. Although it’s likely that the bullies’ tune changed a bit when the 34C, 17 year-old Tyra came into her own.

Tyra Banks grew up in Los Angeles, and while she was qualified to enter college, she thought some time spent modeling might make her college years a little smoother financially. What she couldn’t have expected was the phenomenal success that followed her entrance into the modeling world.

A sharp-eyed agent noticed something special in Tyra Banks, and out of photographs of several models insisted on her coming to Paris to model. Banks made her entrance into modeling at a crossroads in the
industry. She was born December 4, 1973, and by the time she entered the modeling world the racial glass ceiling was just starting to crack, but the African-American Tyra Banks faced another uphill struggle—the popularity of barely there-figured models such as Kate Moss. Tyra Banks’s voluptuous curves made her a big hit with the everyman, but designers and magazine editors had reservations about her bombshell body.

Tyra Banks knew she couldn’t change her basic body type, so she focused on what she could control—her poise and skills. She spent years refining her walk and her ability to put her best face forward in front of a camera. Her commitment to her craft began to yield impressive results. Editors of such publications as Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated went against their histories by placing Tyra Banks, an African-American, on the cover. Several film appearances followed, including a role in John Singleton’s racially charged film Higher Learning.

With personality and brains to match her body, Tyra Banks has become a household name and found unusual media success for a supermodel (she is fourth-highest paid model in the world). Her “America’s Next Top Model” has been a huge success, as has her “Tyra Banks Show.” She attributes much of her success to hard work, the talent of those who work behind the camera, and her close relationship to her mother.