For many, Tyra Banks is the ultimate powerhouse. She is a television personality, model, businesswoman, producer, actress, and writer. Raised in Inglewood, California, she began her modeling career at the age of 15 with the help of her mother. In 1990, Banks signed on with one of the world’s top modeling companies, Elite Model Management. She debuted at Paris Fashion Week, where she walked a record 25 shows her first season. When the high fashion industry pressured her to lose weight, she pivoted to modeling lingerie and swimwear. Banks became the face for Victoria’s Secret and became the first Black woman to land covers of GQ and Sports Illustrated.
Banks founded her own company to manage her career and followed the same trajectory of her idol, Cindy Crawford – including film and TV roles. Her first acting gig was the sitcom “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and in 2000, she had major film roles in the Disney Channel’s “Life-Size” and the box office hit “Coyote Ugly.”
Banks was also a successful pioneer in reality and daytime TV. In 2003, Banks signed on as host and executive producer for the iconic reality series “America’s Next Top Model.” The competition chronicled the search for promising young fashion models and ran for 24 seasons. It became one of the highest-rated shows ever for United Paramount Network (UPN).
In 2005, Banks became the host of her own daytime talk show, “The Tyra Banks Show,” which ran for five years on the WB channel and garnered two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative.
Both “ANTM” and “The Tyra Banks Show,” as well as the 2008 film “The Clique,” were produced by Banks’ own production company, Bankable Productions, of which she is the founder and CEO. She has continued to enjoy success as a host and has been featured on “America's Got Talent” for its 12th season and hosted and executive produced “Dancing With The Stars” for its 29th season in 2020. 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.