Tyra Banks, also known as BanX, is an American supermodel, television personality, actress, author, producer, and entrepreneur. Born in Inglewood, California, she is one of America’s sweethearts; a household name and a celebrity icon.
BanX’s legacy began at 15 years old when she launched a career as a model. She landed spots in Michael Jackson’s music video “Black or White “ and Tina Turner’s “Love Thing” in 1991, which launched her on-camera career. Soon after, she began auditioning and landed a 7 episode contract playing Jackie Ames on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 1997, she became one of Victoria’s Secret’s Angels and soon after was one of the most wealthy models in the world.
A survivor of an emotionally abusive relationship, Tyra Banks joined Oprah in 2009 to discuss the cycles of abuse. Following a public incident with Rihanna and Chris Brown, BanX joined Oprah to cohost an episode focused on domestic violence right after the Rihanna and Chris Brown publicized incident.
From her struggles, Tyra Banks has continued to be a voice of compassion and an advocate for healthy relationships with self and others. She openly speaks about how as one of the top models in the world, she still struggled with low self-esteem; demonstrating how connected we all are.
Tyra Banks Black Moments:
- First black woman on the cover of GQ
- First woman on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
- New York Times best-selling author for Modelland 2011
- Founder and host of America’s next top model
- Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005
- Won two Daytime Emmy awards for The Tyra Banks show
- One of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly been ranked among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine
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