Tyra Banks is an American television personality, model, businesswoman, producer, actress, and writer who is considered one of the world’s top-earning models and was a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. She is also one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly been ranked among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine. The long-running reality television series America’s Next Top Model was created by her in 2003 and she has also been a part of other shows and movies like Halloween: Resurrection, Hannah Montana: The Movie, The Apartment Complex, Larceny, Tropic Thunder, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Shake It Up, Dancing with the Stars, Gossip Girl, New York Undercover, and Soul Food.
Born Name
Page Contents
- 1 Born Name
- 2 Nick Name
- 3 Age
- 4 Sun Sign
- 5 Born Place
- 6 Nationality
- 7 Education
- 8 Occupation
- 9 Family
- 10 Manager
- 11 Net Worth
- 12 Build
- 13 Height
- 14 Weight
- 15 Boyfriend / Spouse
- 16 Race / Ethnicity
- 17 Hair Color
- 18 Eye Color
- 19 Sexual Orientation
- 20 Distinctive Features
- 21 Measurements
- 22 Dress Size
- 23 Bra Size
- 24 Shoe Size
- 25 Brand Endorsements
- 26 Religion
- 27 Best Known For
- 28 As Author
- 29 First Film
- 30 First Fashion Show
- 31 First TV Show
- 32 Personal Trainer
- 33 Tyra Bank’s Favorite Things
- 34 Tyra Banks Facts
Tyra Lynne Banks
Nick Name
Ty, Big Buddy, Lady T L B, BBQ
Age
Tyra Banks is currently 50 according to her birthdate December 04, 1973
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Inglewood, California, United States
Nationality
Education
Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles in the year 1991.
Subsequently, she enrolled herself in Claremont McKenna College and Loyola Marymount College. But, after she got the chance to go to Europe for modeling, she put her education on hold, when she was 16.
She is a Harvard Business School graduate.
Occupation
Former Model, Actress, TV Host, Author
Family
- Father – Donald Banks (Computer Consultant)
- Mother – Caroline London (later London-Johnson) (NASA Photographer)
- Siblings – Devin Banks (5 Year Older Brother)
Manager
As a model, Banks was signed to these modeling agencies –
- D’Management Group
- IMG Models – New York
She has also been represented by United Talent Agency, Talent Agency, Beverly Hills, California, United States.
Net Worth
Tyra’s net worth had been $90 million as per CelebrityNetWorth.com.
Build
Voluptuous
Height
5 ft 10 in or 178 cm
Weight
68 kg or 150 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Tyra Banks has dated –
- Brian White – It was RUMORed that she was romantically involved with actor Brian White in the past.
- Rick Fox – There have been rumors about Tyra and Canadian-Bahamian former basketball player and businessman Rick Fox’s alleged romance in the past.
- Michael Louis Johnson – Banks was RUMORed to be dating Canadian singer Michael in the past.
- Rupert Everett – She was RUMORed to be dating English actor Rupert in the past.
- Craig Taylor (1990) – In 1990, Tyra started dating Manhattan’s Fordham University’s First Year Law Student, Craig Taylor, who is 6 ft 6 inch high. He is her school friend and so they have known each other since their childhood.
- John Singleton (1993-1996) – From 1993 to 1996, American film director John Singleton and Tyra were an item. They got introduced via a mutual friend and soon Tyra got her desired break in acting via Higher Learning (1995), which was directed by Singleton.
- Will Smith (1993-1994) – American actor Will Smith dated Tyra for a couple of months between 1993 and 1994.
- Seal (1996) – English musician Seal dated Tyra briefly in 1996. In this short-lived relationship, the couple appeared publicly only once, and that was during the Essence Awards. They finally broke in October 1996.
- Teresa Weatherspoon (1999) – In September 1999, she had a fling with Teresa Weatherspoon, a professional basketball coach and former player.
- Chris Webber (2001-2004) – Basketball player Chris Webber and Tyra Banks were romantically linked from December 2011 until September 2004. During these two and a half years, Tyra was frequently seen at Sacramento Kings games. The rumors of their engagement also hit the internet but everything cooled down, once the couple separated in 2004.
- Hype Williams (2002) – In 2002, Banks was RUMORed to be an item with the Honduran film director.
- Giancarlo Marcaccini (2005-2006) – Basketball player from Italy, Giancarlo Marcaccini dated Banks from 2005 to 2006.
- Tyler Perry (2006) – Actor Tyler Perry was RUMORed to be dating Tyra after they were pictured together on multiple occasions in 2006. They termed their relationship as just a friendship.
- John Utendahl (2007-2011) – American investment banker, John Utendahl dated this supermodel from 2007 to 2011. During these 4 years, they worked hard to keep their relationship secret. Whenever Tyra was interviewed, she refused to comment on it and John was never interviewed during this period.
- Rob Evans (2012) – RUMOR
- Drake (Aubrey Graham) (2012) – In May 2012, she had an encounter with Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur Drake.
- Erik Asla (2013) – Norwegian fashion photographer, Erik Asla dated Tyra Banks in 2013. On January 27, 2016, Tyra gave birth to her son York Banks-Asla via surrogacy.
- Keith Carlos (2014) – For about a month, from January 2014 to February 2014, Tyra was romantically linked with fellow model, Keith Carlos. He is about 14 years her junior.
Race / Ethnicity
Black
Tyra Banks is of African-American descent.
Hair Color
Tyra is naturally brunette (brown-colored hair).
Eye Color
Hazel
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Eyes
- Body
- Skin
Measurements
38-27-38 in or 96.5-68.5-96.5 cm
Dress Size
6 (US) or 38 (EU)
Bra Size
34D
Shoe Size
9 (US) 39.5 (EU) or 6.5 (UK)
Brand Endorsements
Tyra Banks advertised for Cover Girl, 3 Suisses, Alma Couture, Dolce & Gabbana, Elite chocolate, Escada, H, H & M, Milk, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Rifat Ozbek, Swatch skin, X-O-X-O, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Religion
Christianity
Best Known For
Working with Victoria’s Secret as their angel and also with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
As Author
Tyra released her first novel in September 2011 titled Modelland, through which she shared her own modeling experience. In October 2011, it was on the New York Times bestseller list.
Later, in 1998, she also released another book Tyra’s Beauty, Inside and Out.
First Film
Banks had a role in the 1995 American drama film Higher Learning for her role as Deja. The film received mostly positive reviews with a few mixed ones and was able to gross $38,290,723 in the USA.
First Fashion Show
She debuted with Ready to Wear – Autumn / Winter 1992 fashion show where she modeled for Chanel.
First TV Show
In 1993, Tyra appeared in 8 episodes of NBC’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in which she portrayed Jackie Ames.
Personal Trainer
Martin Snow is the man from whom Tyra takes help to stay in the best shape forever. He does running drills, parachute run (where a parachute is attached to Tyra’s body and she is instructed to run with that setup. This setup creates more air resistance while running and burns even more calories), boxing, and cardiovascular exercises with her.
She also uses some medicine balls and a kettlebell workout.
Tyra likes to eat fresh fruits a lot. Mangoes and papayas are her favorite ones. To get some protein, she also eats salad with chicken pieces and shrimp.
Also, she doesn’t take alcoholic drinks.
Tyra Bank’s Favorite Things
- Perfume – Demeter PMU
Tyra Banks Facts
- She has appeared on the cover page of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue two times in the past.
- Banks had been ranked multiple times by TIME magazine in their “Most Influential People List”. She has become one of the four African Americans to have received this status.
- Her parents divorced when she was only 6 and her brother was 11.
- She faced the situation of “Ugly Duckling” (what she calls herself) in her childhood. This is because she lost 30 pounds (13.6 kg) of weight in three months and also added three inches to her height.
- She started modeling at 15 when she was still going to school in Los Angeles.
- Initially, she was rejected 6 times by various modeling agencies; but, was finally signed by L.A. Models.
- She launched her website www.typef.com in March 2011, which is co-owned by Demand Media.
- She is the first African American woman to grace the cover of magazines like GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She is also the first African American to ever be chosen for the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
- Tyra is VH1’s “Supermodel of the Year” for the year 1997.
- Oprah Winfrey is her role model.
- She has a dog named Little TJ.
- In 2020, she was made the new host of the dance reality show, Dancing with the Stars for its 29th season, replacing Tom Bergeron.