Tyra Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an African-American
supermodel and is considered one of the top models
in the world.
Banks was born
in Los Angeles, California and attended Immaculate
Heart High School. In 1991, Banks tyra banks was
just weeks away from starting her freshman year
at college when Elite, a fashion magazine, gave
the 17-year-old her first modelling job. Instead
of heading to school, Tyra headed to Paris for
fashion shows and soon became internationally
known. She is now featured in a wide array of
magazines, commercials, and billboards. Her credits
include Cover Girl, Swatch, Pepsi, Nike, Tommy
Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Dolce & Gabbana,
among many others.
Banks was the first African-American
to be featured on the cover of Gentlemen's Quarterly,
Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and the Victoria's
Secret catalog. It was her Victoria's Secret work
in particular that made her famous. In 1997, Tyra
won the prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel
of the Year.
Banks is the host, chief judge, and an executive producer (with
Ken Mok) of the UPN television show America's
Next Top Model, which chronicles the transformation
of everyday young women into potential supermodels.
In 2004 Banks released an album of dance and pop music. A single, "Shake
Ya Body," was released and ignored.
In addition to recurring roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as Will Smith's
friend from Philadelphia, and in the college drama
Felicity, Banks has appeared in numerous movies.
