53 Facts About Tyra Banks

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

Tyra Banks began acting on television in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and made her film debut in the drama Higher Learning.

In 2003, Tyra Banks created the long-running reality television series America's Next Top Model, which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons, until the series' cancellation in October 2015.

Tyra Banks remained executive producer for the revival of the series in 2016 and enlisted Rita Ora as host for the twenty-third cycle before reassuming the duties herself for the twenty-fourth cycle.

Banks was the co-creator of True Beauty, and had her own television talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, which aired on The CW and won two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative.

In 2017, Tyra Banks was the host of America's Got Talent for its 12th season.

In 2010, Tyra Banks published a young adult novel titled Modelland, based on her life as a model, which topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011.

Tyra Banks has her own production company, Bankable Productions, which produced The Tyra Banks Show, America's Next Top Model, and the 2008 film The Clique.

Tyra Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly been ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.

Tyra Banks is one of only seventeen models to be ranked as a Legendary Supermodel by MODELS.

Tyra Lynne Banks was born in Inglewood, California, on December 4,1973.

Tyra Banks's mother, Carolyn London, is a medical photographer, and her father, Donald Banks, is a computer consultant.

Tyra Banks has a brother, Devin, who is five years older.

In 1979, when Tyra Banks was six years old, her parents divorced.

Tyra Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles.

Tyra Banks has said that while growing up, she was teased for her appearance and considered an "ugly duckling"; when Tyra Banks was 11 years old, she grew three inches and lost 30 pounds in three months.

When Tyra Banks was 15 years old, she started modeling while attending school in Los Angeles.

Tyra Banks switched to Elite Model Management at age 16.

Tyra Banks appeared in editorials for American, Italian, French, and Spanish Vogue; American, French, German, and Spanish Elle; American, German, and Malaysian Harper's Bazaar; V; W and Vanity Fair.

Tyra Banks appeared on the covers of magazines such as Elle; Harper's Bazaar; Spanish Vogue; Cosmopolitan; Seventeen and Teen Vogue.

Tyra Banks walked in fashion shows for Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Herve Leger, Valentino, Fendi, Isaac Mizrahi, Giorgio Armani, Sonia Rykiel, Michael Kors and others.

In 1993, Tyra Banks signed a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, launching advertising campaigns for the cosmetics company.

Tyra Banks was one of only a few Black models to achieve Supermodel status.

Tyra Banks was the first Black woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the first African-American woman on the cover of GQ.

In 2010, Tyra Banks re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models.

Tyra Banks is a contributor of the Vogue Italia website.

In 2013, Tyra Banks transformed herself into 15 supermodels, in collaboration with fashion photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth.

In 2019, Tyra Banks came out of her modeling retirement to pose for one of the three 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers; the other cover models being Camille Kostek and Alex Morgan.

Tyra Banks announced that she will now go by the modeling name BanX.

Tyra Banks appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode entitled "Chinatown".

Tyra Banks is the executive producer and former presenter and judge of America's Next Top Model.

In 2008, Banks won the Daytime Emmy Award for her work and production on The Tyra Banks Show, and won for the second time in a row for outstanding, informative talkshow in 2009.

Tyra Banks then co-starred with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life.

Tyra Banks appeared in the fourth episode of the third season of Gossip Girl playing Ursula Nyquist, a larger-than-life actress.

Tyra Banks appeared on the Disney Channel show Shake It Up as a school librarian.

In 2015, Tyra Banks starred in the round table lineup talk show FABLife alongside model Chrissy Teigen, fashion stylist Joe Zee, interior designer Lauren Makk, and YouTube personality Leah Ashley.

Tyra Banks quit the series after less than three months to focus on her cosmetics company.

In 2018, Tyra Banks returned to acting for her starring role in Life-Size 2, which premiered on Freeform on December 2.

In July 2020, it was announced that Tyra Banks would be the new host of Dancing with the Stars.

In March 2023, Tyra Banks decided to leave the show after 3 seasons to focus on buisness commitments.

Tyra Banks Beauty uses a multi-level marketing system to recruit sales distributors, who are called "beautytainers" by the company.

Tyra Banks held a casting call to find faces for her line, eventually selecting Melody Parra, Monique Hayward, Katy Harvey and Top Model Norge contestant Marita Gomsrud as the cosmetic line's original beauty models.

Tyra Banks had a single on the Life-Size soundtrack called "Be a Star".

Tyra Banks recorded a song with musician Todrick Hall for his 2021 album Femuline, entitled "Fashon".

In 1998, Banks co-authored a book entitled Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out.

Tyra Banks announced in May 2010 that she would be writing a novel, titled Modelland, loosely based on her own modelling experience.

Tyra Banks dated Norwegian photographer Erik Asla during the 2010s, and in January 2016 they had a biological son born via surrogacy.

Tyra Banks has stated that she tends to avoid drinking and has never used other recreational drugs.

Tyra Banks has spoken out about abusive relationships in her past.

Tyra Banks completed the executive education training program in February 2012, earning a certificate.

Tyra Banks has come under criticism for implying she is a Harvard graduate.

Tyra Banks established the TZONE program, which aimed at leadership and life skills development.

Tyra Banks has established the Tyra Banks Scholarship, a fund aimed at providing African-American girls the opportunity to attend her alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School.