Tyra Lynne Banks was born in the 4th of December 1973. She is known for being an actress, American TV personality, producer, former talk show host and model.

Tyra Banks rose to fame as a model after she appeared two times on Sports cover on the illustrated swimsuit issue as well as being one of the original Angels of Victoria’s Secret. In the early 2000’s, Tyra Banks was one of the highest paid models.

Tyra Banks Biography

Tyra Banks net worth is $90 million. She is an actress, American television personality, singer, businesswoman and model.

Height: 5 foot 10 inches or 178 centimeters

Weight: 141 pounds or 64 kg

Measurements: 94-61-91.5 cm or 37-24-36 inches

Early Days

Tyra Banks was an awkward, tall and skinny girl who was often teased by her classmates and Devin, her older brother. She decided to fix her skinny body and successfully got into better shape. Her career as a model was not a smooth sail as she got rejected by 4 agencies on the basis that she lacked a photogenic appearance. Nonetheless, this did not discourage her as she kept trying and was eventually accepted by the Elite agency. After being signed up, she had to discontinue school at the age of 17 from the Loyola Marymount University.

Taking off in Modeling

As an Elite model, Tyra went to Paris for a year where she developed her career. While there, she became one of the top models and modeled for top brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta. Upon her return to America, she reached out to Cover Girl Cosmetics creating a sensation in 1993 owing to the fact that she was the first black model to work with the company. Tyra Banks was then seen posing in adverts for companies like Swatch, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana as well as Pepsi. When she was crowned among the 50 most beautiful people in the world by the People Magazine in 1994, her career skyrocketed.

Being on Magazine Cover and Victoria’s Secret

Her career got to its climax in 1996 when she appeared on the cover of Sport on the illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was the first African-American model to be on the cover of sport and this made her a supermodel. She then made it to being the first black model on the Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ) magazine for being one of the most beautiful people in the world. When Victoria’s Secret incorporated her in their catalogue she earned more popularity and ended up being crowned as 1997’s Supermodel in the Michael Award.

Tyra Banks and Victoria’s Secret

Tyra Banks was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005.

Tyra Banks Victoria’s Secret wings were off her back in 2005, but she is open to the idea of a reunion with other angels Heldi Klum and Gisele Bundechen. Tyra says that she was asked to a reunion some years back but she declined the offer saying that she wanted to be taken as a serious television producer as well as a businesswoman. When asked if she would now, she said that she is not very sure about it though she feels a connection to the other original Angels.

Unhappy Incidents Between Tyra and Victoria’s Secret

Tyra Victoria’s Secret former angel says that Victoria’s Secret promised her a lifetime supply of their products even after she decided to leave the country. Upon leaving the country, Tyra has a bone to pick with the company as they did not honor their promise after only supplying her with products for only a year.

The 8 years of Tyra Banks Victoria’s Secret service received a shocker after she suggested appearing as a surprise guest last year on the annual CBS show held in December. The company and the network both declined her request and she was apparently very angry and even threatened never to work with Victoria’s Secret again.

Tyra was hurt, more so by the reasons that were given for the decline. Apparently, according to the source, the audience is more interested in fresh talent not with what they are already used to. It is also reported that she was yearning for a comeback on the run way. However, if you were anticipating seeing Tyra Victoria’s Secret wings again, then crush that hope as those wings might not be coming back any time soon.

Acting

Apart from taking part in the roles that come with being a top supermodel, Tyra Banks is also an actress. She started off with a simple role in “Inferno” (1992), a British movie-to-television program. In the 90s she started appearing in comedies like “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” where she acted alongside Will Smith. She later on acted in “Higher Learning” in 1995, which was her first movie. She earned positive reviews from critiques proving to the world she was not just another supermodel - she was special. Later on, she appeared in many other famous movies like “Love Stinks” (1999), “Halloween: Resurrection” (2002) as well as “Eight Crazy Nights” (2002) where she contributed her voice in the movie.

American Next Top Model

Tyra did not stop at being a model and appearing on television, she produced “American Next Top Model”. “American Next Top Model” was aimed at getting the next supermodel from the competing contestants. Tyra was one of the judges and the host of the show.

Autobiography, Songs and Charity

Apart from her successful career as an actor, TV host and producer and modeling, Tyra Banks has also written an autobiography “Tyra’s Beauty Inside & Out”. In addition, she has also released songs, the most famous being “Shake Ya Body” that was her first single. Tyra also has a life away from fame that involves children, the environment and education. In 1994 she created the Tyra Banks Scholarship. She also made the world aware of endangered ecosystem after taking a journey to the Costa Rica rainforest. Among her personal goals is assisting girls overcome self-esteem problems. She also established Tzonefoundation.

Tyra Banks Personal Life

Tyra Banks keeps her love life off the lime light, but it is known that she was romantically involved with Chris Webber, a basketball player, John Singleton, a director, and John Utendahl, an investment banker. However, Tyra has no children and is not married.

Tyra Banks Education

Tyra went to John Burroughs Middle School and later on graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles in 1991.

She then joined Claremont McKenna College and Loyola Marymount College. However, after being signed up at Elite Agency, she left school to go to Paris.

Tyra then enrolled in a 9 week Owner/President Management Program at the Harvard Business School in 2011. She earned a certificate after graduating from the program. However, she has received a lot of criticism for calling herself a Harvard Graduate.

Tyra Banks on the Catwalk and Tyra Banks Victoria's Secret:

Other Popular Victoria’s Secret Models

Interesting thing about Victoria’s Secret Runway shows is that it does not matter how awesome the lingerie is, the Angels always steal the show. While many people still get amazed at how much detail is paid to the garments and how sequined they are with expensive jewels, the models in the clothes make them more spectacular. Among such models include: (in no particular order)
1

Laetitia Casta

In the 1990s she had men drooling at her as a Guess girl. Later on, she proceeded to work with top designers. She started acting and by 2010 she had starred in 4 movies released in France, and in 2012 she appeared in Arbitrage a Lionsgate thriller.

2

Daniela Pestova

She was among the first 3 original angels and is among the most accomplished models of all time. She has appeared on the cover of Sport the swimsuit illustration edition on three different occassions.

3

Alessandra Ambrosio

The exquisite model has made it to being in popular movies like Casino Royale. She also made appearances on Entourage and Sitcom the CBS hit.

4

Adriana Lima

She has had a successful career as a model and as an actress. She has appeared on” How I Met your Mother” and “Ugly Betty TV series. Her SuperBowl adverts have made her a super star of SuperBowl Sunday.

5

Marisa Miller

She made it to being named Perfect 10 Model. She has also been named as the Men’s Fitness favorite model by the readers. As an actress, she has had a successful career so far after appearing on “How I Met Your Mother”, “Entourage” and “Gary Unmarried’. She is also in a big screen movie “R.I.P.D”.

6

Candice Swanepoel

She is among the highest grossing models in the world after she appeared on the Forbes’ top 10 highest earning models. She has been a Victoria’s Secret Model since 2010.

7

Miranda Kerr

She was the first Australian model to make it to being a Victoria’s Secret model. This happened after she was involved in the campaign that took place in 2006. She has since then risen to fame and has launched her line of organic skin care products and has a book titled “Treasure Yourself”.

8

Doutzen Kroes

She joined Victoria’s Secret in 2004 and is a successful model and actress. She became an angel in 2008. She is among the most paid models earning $6.9 million in 2012. She has a contract with L’Oreal.

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