The former Victoria Secret Model Tyra Banks is one of the most celebrated names in Hollywood. She is a model/actress, entrepreneur, and television personality. She started her modeling career when she was 15 and was the first African-American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The actress made her film debut from the feature film Higher Learning in 1995. Since 2003, she has been producing and presenting the long-running reality television series America’s Next Top Model.
Early Life and Education of Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California. She was born to father Donald Banks and mother Carolyn London. Her father is a computer consultant and mother is a medical photographer. She has a brother, Devin who is six years older than her.
Her parents divorced when she was six-years-old. She completed high school diploma from the Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, in 1998. Tyra is primarily African but also British and Native American ancestry.
Tyra Banks' Career
Modeling Career
Tyra Banks started modeling when she was 15 before completing high school. She signed with La models and worked for one year. She then switched to Elite Model Management next year.
Following, Tyra went to Europe and walked in Paris Fashion Week in 1991. She also appeared in editorials of several fashion magazines including American, French and Spanish Vogue- American, French and German Elle and Harper’s Bazaar too.
She was also named as one of the ‘5o most beautiful people of the world’ by the people’s magazine in 1994.
In 1997, she received the VH1 award for Supermodel of the Year. The same year, she was chosen as the first African American woman for the cover of the Victoria’s Secret Catalog. And then Victoria Secret signed a contract with her.
Banks got into the glamour field as a model and started being popularly known after she got featured as the cover girl twice for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
In 2010, she re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models. She is now a contributor to the Vogue Italia website.
Tyra Banks' Film And Television Career
Tyra Banks began her television career on the fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played the friend of actor Will Smith. She then appeared in other series like Felicity, All That and Barker’s Beauty.
Later, Tyra founded her own production company, Ty Ty Baby Productions- soon it’s changed to Bankable Productions.
The company produced UPN/The CW reality shows America’s Next Top Model. She is the executive producer and former presenter and judge of the ANTM.
From 2005-10, she hosted another show The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talk show aimed at younger woman. She also won Emmy Award for her production work on The Tyra Banks Show in 2008.
Tyra Banks has also made her presence in numerous feature and TV movies including Higher Learning, Love & Basketball, Coyote Ugly Mr. Woodc* * k. She is hosting the American's Got Talent since 2017.
She is also the co-creator of ‘True Beauty’. Hosting her own talk show ‘The Tyra Banks Show’ she created quite a stir. She is one among the seven women and four African American to be ranked repeatedly among the world’s most influential persons.
Tyra Banks' Net Worth And Charity
According to The Richest, her estimated net worth is $90 million. She has garnered this amount of figure from her twenty-eight years' long fashion and modeling career. She is one of the highest paid supermodels in Hollywood. She earns annually over $25 million from her profession.
She resides in a lavish mansion in Pacific Palisades which is valued at $2 million. She drives SC430 Lexus Car which market value is $66K.
She is also active in charitable and philanthropical works. She has established the TZONE (now Tyra Banks TZONE) program, which aimed at leadership and life skills development.
She has also established Tyra Banks Scholarship- a fund aimed to provide African-American girls to study at the Immaculate High School. From where she completed her high school diploma.
| Year | Particular (Sources) | Amount |
| 2002 |
Sponsorship & Victoria's Secret
|
$3 million |
| 2003 | Sponsorship & Victoria's Secret | $3 million |
| 2004 | Sponsorship & Victoria's Secret | $3 million |
| 2005 | Sponsorship & Victoria's Secret | $3 million |
| 2007 | Annual Income | $18 million |
| 2009 | Annual Income | $30 million |
| 2013 | Annual Income | $91 |
Tyra Banks' Personal Life And Relationship
Tyra Banks is an unmarried woman. She broke up her relationship with Norwegian Photographer Erik Asla in October 2017. The duo lived together for almost five years and separated. They have a son together who was born via surrogacy in January 2016.
After separating from her, Elsa moved out from her Los Angeles home. But, after separating, they have decided to remain as friends and work together in ANTM.
Banks previously had affairs with several men in Hollywood but her relationship was abusive. In 2009, she revealed duly about her abusive relationship and affair on The Oprah Winfrey Show. That episode was dedicated to dating violence in response to the a s sault of Rihanna by Chris Brown.
In the 90’s she was romantically linked to film director John Singleton, musician Seal, and actor Will Smith. She reportedly dated basketball player Chris Webber till 2004 for 3 years.
She also runs her cosmetic e-commerce site Tyra.com. Her young adult novel topped The New York Times Best Seller list in October 2011.
Banks has a mega fan following on her Instagran with 6.2 million followers, as of Jan 2019.
Tyra Banks' Body Measurement
- Tyra Banks' height: she stands 177.8 cm (5 ft 10 in).
- Weight: 64 kg (141 lb)
- Bra Size: 34C
- Chest Size: 37 inch
- Tyra Banks' Age: December 4, 1973 (age 45)
- Birth Name: Tyra Lynne Banks
by sanjeet, 31 Dec, 2013
