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Tyra Banks is an American supermodel, television host, businesswoman, and cultural icon born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California. Originally bullied for her appearance during her school years, she turned her unique features into her greatest asset after being discovered by a modeling scout in her teens. She quickly rose through the ranks in Paris, walking 25 shows in a single season as a newcomer, an unprecedented achievement at the time. She made history as the first Black woman to grace the covers of GQ magazine, the Victoria's Secret catalog, and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, breaking racial barriers that had long limited Black models in mainstream high fashion.
Her runway dominance throughout the 1990s and early 2000s with brands like Victoria's Secret, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Yves Saint Laurent made her one of the most influential models of her generation. She walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show as one of its earliest Angels, becoming known for her commanding catwalk presence and her famous "smize." Tyra Banks' good pics from her iconic Sports Illustrated covers (including her historic 1996 and 1997 issues), Victoria's Secret Angel era, GQ shoots, and high-fashion editorials with photographers like Patrick Demarchelier remain definitive moments in modeling history.
Beyond modeling, Tyra built one of the most expansive media empires of any model in history through her sharp business instincts and willingness to reinvent herself. She created and hosted America's Next Top Model, which ran for 24 cycles from 2003 to 2018, launched in over 170 countries, and fundamentally redefined the reality television genre while giving aspiring models a global stage. The show launched the careers of dozens of working models and made her catchphrases "smize," "fierce," and "tooch" part of pop culture vocabulary.
She also hosted The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talk show that won two Daytime Emmy Awards and tackled issues around body image and women's empowerment with surprising depth. She briefly took over hosting duties on Dancing with the Stars and has authored bestselling books including the young adult fantasy novel Modelland and the empowerment guide Perfect Is Boring. Her latest major venture is SMiZE & Dream, her own ice cream and dessert brand combining her two passions, which is rapidly expanding across the United States with multiple flagship locations and major retailer partnerships.