Tyra Banks is an American actress, businesswoman, producer and TV personality. She was best known as a face of the cosmetics company CoverGirl and the American lingerie, clothing, and cosmetics retailer Victoria’s Secret.
She is best known for creating and hosting “The Tyra Banks Show” and “America’s Next Top Model”. She is the first black woman to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Tyra Banks’ net worth estimated at $90 million as of 2019. She acquired fortune from modeling as well as from television and film career.
Let’s take a look at Tyra Banks’ life and career.
Early Life
Tyra Banks was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California to Carolyn London and Donald Banks. Her mother was a medical photographer and her father worked as a computer consultant. She has a brother named Devin. In early childhood, when she was just six years old, her parents divorced.
She initially joined John Burroughs Middle School and later joined to Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles where she completed her graduation in 1991.
During her young age, she was teased for her appearance and considered an “ugly duckling”. Around the time she was 11, she faced body-shaming after a sudden growth spurt made her tall and skinny.
She later applied for Loyola Marymount University for her major in film studies. However, she moved to Paris even before starting college, after a French modeling agent selected her for the upcoming Paris fashion week.
Career
Tyra Banks started her modeling career at the young age of 15 while she was still in school.
In 1990, she made a contract with Elite Model Management which offered her the opportunity to model in Europe and subsequently moved to Milan. After a year, she was able to book 25 runway shows as a newcomer in the 1991 Paris Fashion Week.
She was following a strict diet plan to maintain her body shape as required by the industry. She went back to USA during the mid-1990s to pursue a career in swimwear and lingerie modeling.
She became the first African-American model to sign a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics.
In 1994, one of the popular magazines, “People” named her one of ’50 Most Beautiful People in the World’. She was also featured on the covers of ‘GQ’ magazine in 1996 and the ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’ in 1997.
She was featured in Victoria’s Secret lingerie catalog as the first black woman in 1997. She was also announced as the “Supermodel of the Year” by VH1.
She was also actively seen in the television and film career. She debuted on television in 1993 along with Will Smith on the fourth season of ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’.
In 2003, she created and executive produced the reality television series “America’s Next Top Model” where she hosted the show herself of the first 22 seasons.
She created her talk show, “The Tyra Banks Show” in 2005 which focused on issues faced by young women.
Later, she appeared in many TV series like ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Shake It Up’, ‘Blackish’, ‘Glee’ and many more.
She replaced Nick Cannon as the main host of America’s Got Talent in 2017.
Net Worth and Earnings
As mentioned above, Tyra Banks’ net worth estimated at $90 million. She has successfully collected this huge net worth from her modeling as well as tv and film profession.
Personal Life
Tyra Bank has been in a relationship with several celebrities in past including director John Singleton and basketball player Chris Webber.
Tyra avoids to discuss her private issue publicly, so she kept her personal life away from the limelight of media. In 2003, she also dated Norwegian photographer Erik Asla. There is no much more information regarding her relationship currently.
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