When Tyra Banks graced the cover of THE BLACK COLLEGIAN in the November/December 1989 issue, she was 16 and already on her way to a modeling career. Although she planned to attend Loyola Marymount University to major in film and television production, she decided to accept a modeling offer in Paris instead.
AND THE REST IS A SUCCESS STORY
Born Dec. 4, 1973 in Los Angeles, Calif., Banks grew up, up, up into a lanky teenager who was initially selfconscious about her looks. In a 2008 Newsweek interview, Banks credited THE BLACK COLLEGIAN with helping to kick start her career with that first photo. But she also said in that interview that her teen years were very tough.
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"I grew three inches and lost 40 pounds in 90 days. It was just this crazy growth spurt. I felt like a freak: people would stare at me in the grocery store."
But with encouragement from her mother, a professional photographer, Banks became comfortable with her looks. She initially developed an interest in photography and wanted to study television and film production.
"When I was about 9, my mom started a business photographing women in our living room who wanted a glamorous picture of themselves. I held her light meters and jjer reflectors. . . It's so funny that the little assistant holding the lights was a supermodel in the making." One of the few African- American women to be given the title ''supermodel," Banks was the first Black woman to appear on the covers of GQ, Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and the Victoria's Secret catalog. In 1997, she received the industry's prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year. She has had contracts with Swatch and Cover Girl, and has appeared in ad campaigns for Nike, Pepsi, Tommy Hunger, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana.
SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR
The New York Times has dubbed her "America's Next Top Mogul" because of her lucrative business ventures. "The Tyra Banks Show," which she produces and hosts, has won a Daytime Emmy Award; and her nighttime cable show, "America's Next Top Model," has not only been a hit, but has also catapulted numerous aspiring models into the limelight. In 2009, she and actor/producer Ashton Kutcher joined forces to create anotber reality show, "True Beauty."
Even while she was modeling, Banks had goals on the business-side on the industry. "I wanted to be more of a business woman. I wanted to take this name I had made for myself and take it to the next level," she told Models, corn's David Sterling.
In addition to overseeing her successful television projects, Banks is continually broadening her range. She recently announced that spring 2010 will be the final season for "The Tyra Banks Show" and that she plans to concentrate on her film production company, Bankable Studios, the latest wing of her ever-growing "Bankable" empire.
"There's a lot cooking right now and a lot of fire burning in my heart, and for years, I've been working on the next big ideas and new ways to reach out to you," Banks wrote on Tyra.com, announcing her decision. "And what I love about creating new projects is that it also creates new jobs for talented people, in front of and behind the camera."
According to her Web site, Tyra. com, Banks created Bankable Productions in 2003 as a subsidiary of her parent company, Bankable Enterprises. The production company develops television shows and feature films that are "of&the-charts entertaining, uplifting and have wide appeal across various demographics." Bankable Productions emphasizes content that features strong female characters. As part of a development deal between Warner Premiere and Bankable Productions Banks executive-produced a direct to DVD movie in 2008 based on The New York Times best-selling teen novel series, "Clique."
Knowing that she could not model for the rest of her life, Banks diversified her career in her early 20s, appealing in a recurring role as Will Smith girl friend in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and other popular TV shows including "Soul Food."
She later branched out into nims making her movie debut in 1995 in John Singleton's "Higher Learning" and following up in the critically acclaimed "Love & Basketball" and "Coyote Ugly."
Next she ventured into writing, authoring "Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out," a primer on esteem, cosmetics and hair care.
ENCOURAGING HIGHER EDUCATION
Banks' photo on the cover of a poblication dedicated to collegians carriers a bit of irony because, although she intended to model for a year and them attend Loyola Marymount, Banks did not pursue a college education.
However, despite that decision, Banks has emphasized education in her talk show and philanthropy. For example, in May 2009, "The Tyra Banks Show" presented five deserving women with "full-ride" scholarships to online colleges. The scholarships were specifically aimed at mothers who wanted to obtain college degrees while continuing to raise their children. Applicants were required to write essays explaining why they deserved the scholarships.
Banks also established TZone Foundation, which she describes on her Web site: "The Foundation is committed to supporting visionary organizations that enable women and girls to achieve their full potential."
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Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Wednesday, September 15th 2010 at 5:06PM
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