Tyra Banks, international supermodel, actress, TV host, author, and philanthropist, turns the big 4-0 this year. Queen of the Smize, the booty tooch, and modeling H-to-T, Banks sure has a lot to celebrate.
Banks got her modeling start at the age of 15 when she signed with L.A. Models after being rejected from six other agencies. But, her determination paid off. After spending a year learning the ropes in L.A., she switched agencies, joining Elite Model Management and soon whisking off to Europe. During her first runway season in 1991, Banks booked an unprecedented 25 shows and did advertising campaigns for Dolce & Gabanna, Yves Saint Laurent, and Ralph Lauren. She went on to become the first African American woman to cover GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and she walked in the first broadcast of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, reigning as an Angel for ten years.
After winning the Supermodel of the Year award in 1997, Banks tried her hand in acting with a recurring role alongside Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She amassed a collection of television credits before starting her own production company, Ty Ty Baby Productions (later renamed Bankable Productions). In 2003, she launched America’s Next Top Model, a reality show aimed to discover fledgling models and make them superstars. The show, about to enter its 21st cycle, is broadcast around the world, with subsequent shows in over a dozen countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, the U.K., and Germany. Not content with just a reality show, in 2005, Banks became the host of her own daytime talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, which won two Emmy’s before ending in 2010.
Banks isn't only about on-screen stardom, however. She founded The Tyra Banks TZONE Foundation in 1999, a leadership and empowerment program for girls. And in September 2011, she added "author" to her resume, releasing her first novel, Modelland, about four girls accepted in an exclusive model academy. The book made the New York Times Bestseller list in October of that year.
As Banks prepares to celebrate a milestone year, a look back at her twenty plus career.
Ron Galella/WireImage; Andrew H. Walker/Getty; Mike Coppola/Getty for Tyra Banks
Sporting blunt bangs and a slinky red Donna Karan dress, Banks strikes a pose during the Fall Fashion Line Presentation and Cocktail Party at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.
Jim Smeal/WireImage
Banks poses on a rooftop with fellow Sports Illustrated model Lana Ogilvie in March 2013.
Channeling her inner goth and boho chic, Banks smiles for the cameras on the red carpet.
Sans-wings, Banks walks the runway for the 1996 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at The Plaza Hotel in NYC in a green bikini and animal print cover-up.
Smouldering in a fur bolero and lingerie, Banks walks the runway (covered in glitter no less) for Victoria's Secret.
At the 2003 America's Next Top Model finale party at the Key Club in Hollywood, Banks shows off her curves (and cleavage) in a stretchy, burnt orange gown.
Banks sashayed down the red carpet at the 2007 Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Hollywood in a bronze ball gown.
Tyra on Tyra: Banks poses next to her cover in the September 2008 issue of Harper's Bazaar at Highbar in New York City.
Looking coy in a white cocktail dress, Banks attended the Calvin Klein Collection and Visionaire 56 Solar 2009 launch in New York City.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty
At Vogue's 90th anniversary party in September 2010, Banks walked the red carpet at the Hotel Pozzo di Borgo in Paris wearing a daring black sequined dress and a fishnet veil.
In a fan frenzy—at least on her dress—Banks held the 2008 Flawsome Ball in New York for her foundation, TZONE, at Capitale on October 18, 2012 in New York City.
In a tight black dress, Banks helped celebrate female chefs at the 2013 James Beard Foundation's Women In Whites gala at the Four Seasons in New York.
