Childhood

Tyra Lynne Banks was born on December 4th, 1973, in Los Angeles, California. Although Tyra grew up in an affectionate family, her parents divorced when she was six years old.

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 later in High School Tyra took it up as a challenge and began to workout to become a model. Tyra pursued that goal with the determination that now marks all of her activities.

Nicknamed Froggy of BBQ, Tyra loves painting, rollerblading and skiing.

Career

Banks began her modeling career at the age of 17 with the Elite agency after flirting with attending college at Loyola Marymount. The 5'11" black beauty was quickly discovered in Los Angeles, her birth city, and offered a healthy contract with cosmetics company Cover Girl, becoming only the third African-American woman in the world to secure such an opportunity.

After dropping her studies at Loyola Marymount College, Tyra optimistically flew to Paris to pursue her modeling career. Within a year she was working for such exclusive fashion houses as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Yves St. Laurent and Oscar de la Renta. She also did campaigns for Cover Girl Cosmetics and Victoria Secret. Subsequently, Tyra appeared for Anfernee Hardaway, Nike, Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana.

Her striking looks and business savvy extended to several offers, including assignments with various magazine covers including Sports Illustrated and most notably GQ, where Banks became the first black woman ever to grace the cover.

She then moved back to the States and continued modeling, skyrocketing her way up through the ranks.

In addition to magazine layouts Tyra tried her hand at acting, having a small part in the British television movie, Inferno as a supermodel, and then appearing on Will Smith's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in a recurring supporting role.

Tyra received her first movie role in John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995), portraying Omar Epps' girlfriend, Deja.

Tyra's work on film brought her to the silver screen in Love Stinks (1999, French Stewart and Bill Bellamy) and also brought a significant role in Jerry Bruckheimer's hit Coyote Ugly (2000).

She played a sexy barmaid in a role that showcased all of her assets in one tidy package.

Critics were impressed by the intensity she brought to the screen. She was definitely not just another supermodel playing at being an actress; her performance was the real thing.

Tyra appeared in the 2000 independent film Love and Basketball and in the Disney TV movie Life-Size where she played the character of a living doll. Recently Tyra appeared in New York Undercover and will soon play a lead role in a movie she is producing, Disney's Honey Thunder Dunk.

Tyra chose not to act in just anything. Instead, she continued her meteoric rise in the modeling ranks, appearing on the covers of several magazines.

She made People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" list not once, but twice, and even wrote a revealing book about her life, Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out. She also had a few high-profile relationships, first with John Singleton and then with pop singer Seal.

Continuing her dual career, Banks' devotion to environmental issues has shown the world her ambition to be a role model as well. She is a promoter of a line of greeting cards for Children+Families, an organization dedicated to helping abused children.

She plays lots of sports, particularly basketball and tennis, and makes sure she always has fun while exercising.

She is one of the richest supermodels in the world, with a personal wealth recently valued at 8.8 million dollars.