Of course you do! Long before Tyra Banks became the producer and host of the top-rated show on the CW network, she was already a record-breaking star. A native of Inglewood, California, Banks began modeling in Paris at the age of 16. Even though it was her first season, she walked in 25 shows, booking top-notch designers such as Yves St. Laurent and Chanel, which was a feat for the experienced model, let alone a novice. Banks began being featured in numerous high fashion runway shows, as well as print work for a number of advertisers, such as Cover Girl cosmetics. As she matured, so did Banks' physique. Instead of fighting nature, she decided to follow it and became one of Victoria's Secret's top models. In 1996, she became the first African-American model to grace the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog, as well as the *Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue* and *GQ*. Banks hung up her modeling stilletos in 2005 to focus on her ventures in television and production.
Before she ended her modeling career, Tyra had already ventured into acting. She appeared on numerous television shows, but most notably opposite Will Smith on his show, *The Fresh Prince*. She ventured into movies as well, and co-starred in the movie *Higher Learning *with Omar Epps in 1995. In 1998, Tyra published her first book, Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, which not only discussed beauty tips, but also provided insight on ways to work on inner beauty. Continuing to focus on improving inner value and self-esteem among teenage girls, Tyra began a camp called T-Zone in 2000.
In 2003, Tyra created her production company, Bankable Productions, as well as her first television show, America's Next Top Model (ANTM). Initially airing on the UPN network, the show involves between 10-14 contestants that compete to win a modeling contract with a top modeling agency and also a sponsorship deal with CoverGirl. ANTM, which Tyra created, is syndicated in over 100 countries. Twenty of these countries have their own locale-specific ANTM spin-offs. An extreme success, ANTM recently finished its 11th season. Tyra, along with the producers of *Project Runway*, just finished up the first season of the show "Stylista," which is a reality competition where the winner received a position as a fashion editor at Elle magazine.
Sweet. Not resting on the laurels of her success with ANTM, in 2005, Tyra launched her daily talk show, "The Tyra Show." Tyra's show, which in some markets airs numerous times throughout the day (up to 4 times in DC!), aims to empower and motivate young women by dealing with issues related to self-esteem, relationships, fashion, and current events. She is very influential with this demographic since both ANTM and "The Tyra Show" contain a high percentage of female viewers ages18-34. According to Tyra, "I think I was put on this earth to instill self-esteem in young girls." The show, much like her other ventures, has been wildly successful, earning her a Daytime Emmy in June 2008 for Outstanding Informative Talk Show.
On the fast-track to becoming next generation's Oprah, Tyra's success in the entertainment industry has not yet reached its plateau. The mogul, who has a net worth of over $75 million, has been included in *Time* magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People twice. In 2007, Bankable Productions inked a deal with Warner Brothers to develop various projects. The first Bankable-WB
collaboration is the straight-to-DVD movie, "The Clique", which is based off of a popular book series about a group of well-to-do teenage girlfriends in New York. Banks, along with famed prankster Ashton Kutcher, has
debuted a new show on ABC named "True Beauty." Much like ANTM, contestants will be judged based on their outer beauty, but unbeknownst to them, their inner beauty and morals as well. Bearing
the Banks branding, the show is sure to be a hit!
