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America's Next Top ModelRole: Host
Premieres: Cycle 11- September 3rd, 2008
The Tyra Banks ShowRole: Host
Airs: Weekdays (Schedule)
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Biography
Full Name: Tyra Lynne Banks
Date of Birth: 4 December 1973
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California
The following is from Wikipedia!
Early Life
Tyra Banks was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Carolyn, an
African American, (née London), a business manager and medical
photographer, and Donald Banks, a computer consultant. The couple
divorced in 1980, when Tyra was six, although the relationship of her
parents and especially her brother Devin Banks (born 1968) stayed
friendly. Later, Carolyn married Clifford Johnson; she now goes by
Carolyn London-Johnson.
Banks attended Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, California,
a Catholic girls’ school, where she insists that her classmates made fun
of her because of her height and weight. Prior to graduating in 1991,
she wanted to pursue modeling. She was accepted to Loyola Marymount
University. However, instead of attending the university, she moved to
Paris to pursue her modeling career.
Romantic Life
In 1993, Banks met Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton through
mutual friends. They began dating and in 1995 Banks had her screen debut
in the Singleton directed film, Higher Learning. She was criticized for
her acting, but Singleton assured she got the part based on her talent
and not favoritism. In the spring of 1996 she and Singleton broke it
off; shortly thereafter Banks was linked briefly to pop singer Seal, who
would incidentally later go on to marry fellow supermodel Heidi Klum.
In 2002, Tyra was spotted consistently at Sacramento Kings basketball
games, and was later confirmed to be dating their forward Chris Webber.
Though their representatives denied it, the two were thought to be
engaged. However, after a two-year romance, they broke up in 2004. Banks
still harbors some emotions over this relationship, as on the November
8, 2006 episode of The Tyra Banks Show, she broke into tears while
speaking about it with Jackie Christie, wife of NBA star Doug Christie.
Banks has yet to publicly discuss any current relationships but is
rumored to be involved with investment banker John Utendahl.
Modeling
Within Banks’ first week in Paris, other designers were so entranced by
her presence on the runway that she was booked for an unprecedented 25
shows–a record in the business for a newcomer. She has done extensive
print and/or runway work for fashion/advertising giants such as Anna Sui,
Coors Light, CoverGirl, Badgley Mischka, Bill Blass, Cynthia Rowley,
Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Gemma Kahng, H&M, Isaac
Mizrahi, Maria Snyder, McDonald’s, Michael Kors, Milk, Nicole Miller,
Nike, Inc., Oscar de la Renta, Pepsi, Perry Ellis, Randy Kemper, Richard
Tyler, Rifat Ozbek, Swatch, Todd Oldham, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s
Secret,Puck Face, and Yves Saint Laurent. She has appeared on the covers
of high fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan,
and Elle. Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ
and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997, she received the
Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year. Also in ‘97, she was chosen
for the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalog, making her the first
African American to be so honored. Banks retired from modeling in May
2005 to concentrate on her television show. She walked the runway for
the final time at the 2005 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. On numerous
occasions, she has been sought after to appear in Playboy magazine;
however, she has turned each request down.
TV & FILM
Banks’ television career began on the fourth season of The Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air, in which she played lead character Will’s old friend Jackie
Ames, and made eight appearances throughout the series. Other screen
credits include Felicity, MADtv, Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out (in which she
was featured as special guest host and team captain), Coyote Ugly and
The Price Is Right (guest-starring as a Barker’s Beauty).
Currently, Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, Arm judge,
and executive producer of the UPN (now the CW) television show America’s
Next Top Model. In addition, she hosts The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime
talkshow aimed at younger women, which premiered on September 12, 2005
and recently began its third season, drawing over 1.9 million viewers an
episode. The show features stories about everyday people mixed in with
celebrity interviews, much like the early format of The Oprah Winfrey
Show. Under the slogan “Every woman has a story…and it happened to
Tyra too.”, Banks promotes her show using emotional flashbacks to her
own childhood and adolescence. Many of the episodes deal with issues
facing women today. The first two seasons of the show were taped in
Banks’ hometown of Los Angeles, but beginning with the fall 2007 season,
the show moved to New York City.
In late January 2008, Banks got the go ahead from ANTM network, CW, to
start work on a new reality television series based on fashion
magazines.
Her first big screen role came in 1994 when she co-starred in the drama
Higher Learning. She went on to co-star with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney
film Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life and has to
learn how to live in the real world. Other notable roles include 1999’s
Love Stinks, 2000’s Coyote Ugly, and 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection.
Music
Banks has appeared in several music videos including “Hey Macerena,”
Michael Jackson’s “Black or White,” Tina Turner’s “Love Thing,” Mobb
Deep’s “Trife Life” and George Michael’s “Too Funky” (with fellow
supermodel Linda Evangelista). In 2004, she recorded her first single,
“Shake Ya Body”, which had a music video featuring the America’s Next
Top Model, Cycle 2 contestants.(Music Video) The video’s world premiere
was aired on UPN, but the single was a failure for Banks. She stated on
Cycle 2 of Top Model that “Singing has been a passion of mine for a
long, long time…6 years on the down low - been ducking in and out of
studios cutting tracks,” but on her talk show she stated, “I can’t
believe I wasted 6 years of doing something that I didn’t finish…I was
almost able to release my album ‘T.Y.R.A’ but since my music career hit
rock bottom I quit.”
Though “Shake Ya Body” was a failure, record producer Darkchild told JET
in 2004 that Banks “has what it takes to pull it off…she had a
hungriness to want to be in the studio all the time. Some people want to
be divas in the studio and work for three or four hours. You had to tell
Tyra to stop or she will keep you going”.[9] As for her voice, Jerkins
stated, ‘”People will be shocked. She can really sing, she’s like
between soprano and high alto. I challenged her vocally. I pushed her,
but not too far. I pushed her where vocally it fit the track.”
Banks released a single with NBA star Kobe Bryant, titled “K.O.B.E.”,
which was performed on NBA TV, and had a single/soundtrack from the
Disney movie Life-Size called “Be A Star”. She also sang in the
musical/movie Eight Crazy Nights and is credited with performing the
theme song to America’s Next Top Model which she also created and hosts.