|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Tyra L. Banks |
Date of Birth: December 4, 1973 |
| Status:
N/A
|
Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Actor/Model |
| << Add Tyra Banks To Your Favorites |
Tyra Banks Sponsors
|
Full Tyra Banks Biography
Tyra was born in Los Angeles on December 4th, 1973, to a very loving and supportive family. Despite the divorce of her parents when she was only six years old, and the torments of her older brother Devin, Tyra's youth was happy and trouble-free.
Though it might now be hard to believe, Tyra was a tall, skinny and awkward adolescent. She was constantly teased by her brother and her classmates, and often ran home crying to her mother for comfort. Then, late in high school, everything changed for her. She filled out her skinny frame, began to work out and finally decided to become a model. Tyra pursued that goal with the determination that now marks all of her activities.
And after being turned down by four modeling agencies because they thought her face wasn't photogenic, she was finally signed by the Elite agency when she was 17.
The future looks bright for Tyra Banks. She stars in two upcoming movies, one of which -- Disney's Honey Thunder Dunk -- she will also be producing, she is one of the richest supermodels in the world, with a personal wealth recently valued at 8.8 million dollars, and there were even rumors a few months ago that Oprah Winfrey is grooming her to take over her show. |
|
Tyra Banks Listing
|
Additional Tyra Banks Biography
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American supermodel, television personality and talk show host. She first emerged to prominence on the runways of Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, and the U.S., but her work in the commercial world was her breakthrough. She is best known as hostess/judge of the reality television show America's Next Top Model, since its 2003 debut on UPN (later CW), and is currently hosting her own Daytime Emmy Award-nominated talk show, The Tyra Banks Show. Banks is one of only four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.
Banks' television career began on the fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played lead character Will's ex-girlfriend Jackie Ames, and made eight appearances throughout the series. Other screen credits include Felicity, MADtv, Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out (in which she was featured as special guest host and team captain), and The Price Is Right (guest-starring as a Barker's Beauty).
Currently, Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, head judge, and executive producer of the UPN (now the CW) television show America's Next Top Model. In addition, she does double duty as the host of The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talk show which premiered on September 12, 2005 and recently began its second season, drawing over 1.9 million viewers an episode. The show features stories about everyday people mixed in with celebrity interviews, much like the early format of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Under the slogan "Every woman has a story...and it happened to Tyra too", Banks promotes her show using emotional flashbacks to her own childhood and adolescence. Many of the episodes deal with issues facing women today.
On the big screen, Banks has had minor roles in a few movies. Her first big screen role came in 1995 when she co-starred in the critically acclaimed drama Higher Learning. She went on to co-star with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life. Other notable roles include 1999's Love Stinks, 2000's Coyote Ugly, and 2002's Halloween: Resurrection.
Banks appeared in several music videos including Michael Jackson's "Black or White",Tina Turner's "Love Thing", and George Michael's "Too Funky" (with fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista). In 2004, she recorded her first single, "Shake Ya Body", which had a music video featuring the America's Next Top Model, Cycle 2 contestants.(Music Video) The video had its world premiere on UPN, but the single was a failure for Banks. She stated on Cycle 2 of Top Models that "Singing has been a passion of mine for a long, long time...6 years on the down low - been ducking in and out of studios cutting tracks," but on her talk show she stated, "I can't believe I wasted 6 years of doing something that I didn't finish...I was almost able to release my album 'T.Y.R.A' but since my music career hit rock bottom I quit." On her show, she commented to Carmen Electra, "Girl, that makes the two of us with music videos that people didn't like."
Though "Shake Ya Body" was a failure, record producer Darkchild told JET in 2004 that Banks "has what it takes to pull it off...she had a hungriness to want to be in the studio all the time. Some people want to be divas in the studio and work for three or four hours. You had to tell Tyra to stop or she will keep you going". As for her voice, Jerkins stated, '"People will be shocked. She can really sing, she's like between soprano and high alto. I challenged her vocally. I pushed her, but not too far. I pushed her where vocally it fit the track."
She has previously been linked romantically to musical artist Seal, NBA players Rick Fox and Chris Webber, hockey player Mark Messier, and director John Singleton. She has said repeatedly that she has no plans on dating or getting married any time soon. Currently, she is enjoying the single life and has recently moved to New York City where she focuses on both of her TV shows.
Banks acts as the patron for TZONE, a leadership program created by Banks for young girls that according to the organization, "reinforces core values of trust and support, challenges teen girls to resist negative social pressures, and enhances self-empowerment—inspiring girls to become confident leaders in their communities." She has also established the Tyra Banks Scholarship, a fund aimed at providing African-American girls the opportunity to attend her alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School.
TV Series
- Where There's a Will, There's a Way: Part 1
- All Guts, No Glory
- Father of the Year
- Blood Is Thicker Than Mud
- Fresh Prince After Dark
- Take My Cousin... Please
- You've Got to Be a Football Hero
Tyra Banks | Gisele Bündchen | Laetitia Casta | Helena Christensen | Heidi Klum | Karen Mulder | Daniela Pestova | Maria Inés Rivero | Stephanie Seymour
Related articles: Edward Razek, Limited Brands, List of Victoria's Secret models, Pink (Victoria's Secret), Victoria's Secret
American television personality, author, actress, singer, executive producer, talk show hostess, and former supermodelDATE OF BIRTH |
|
| Add Tyra Banks Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
Tyra Banks Quote(s)
| Black women have always been these vixens, these animalistic erotic women. Why can't we just be the sexy American girl next door? |
|
| Add Tyra Banks Review/Comment
|
HQ Tyra Banks Pictures (388) | Random Tyra Banks Picture
|
| << Back to the Tyra Banks Homepage |
|
