Tyra Banks is an American actress, former model, television personality, and producer. She rose to fame as a model, appearing twice on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and working as one of Victoria Secret’s “angels.” She not only started the incredibly popular America’s Next Top Model and hosted her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show. Banks is one of the few African American women to continuously be featured as one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People.
Banks signed on as a model for Elite Model Management when she was just 16 years old. She put college on hold to model in Europe, where she was featured numerous times during the 1991 Paris Fashion Week. From there, she became one of the most famous fashion models of all time. She appeared on the covers of Elle and Vogue, and was the first African American Woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Her fame was cemented by her stint as a Victoria’s Secret Angel for over eight years. She resigned from modeling in 2005 to pursue television and production interests.
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Her television career has been an illustrious one. America’s Next Top Model is one of America’s most popular television shows, and her talk show was considered an influential one, especially for the young girls it targeted as its audience. She’s also appeared in some films, including the Hannah Montana movie, Coyote Ugly, and Love & Basketball.