Tyra Banks — The Pioneer
Tyra Banks was born December 3, 1973 in Inglewood, California. At the age of 15 she started her modeling career in LA, eventually signing with LA Models. She left LA Models after a year, and at 16 joined Elite Model Management.
She has been featured on most of the top fashion magazines, including: Photo, Max, Harper’s Bazaar, Amica, Anna, Il Venerdi, L’Espresso, Elle, DT, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Elle, GQ, Sports Illustrated, Details, Shape, Fitness, and Ocean Drive.
Tyra Banks has walked the runway for: Bella Freud, Victoria’s Secret, Alberta Ferretti, Anna Molinari, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Tyra Banks has worked on major fashion campaigns for: 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, XOXO, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Tyra Banks In Person:
Quotes:
“It’s not like I want to hop on a bandwagon, because I said it 15 years ago — bringing a child into your life who is not genetically yours is one of the most beautiful things you can do. But I’m also interested in having my own baby, too.”
“I made my living being 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the average model. And that’s where I got famous.”
“Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.”
“The runway symbolizes something in society that’s very intimidating to women.”
“Models now need to promote themselves, think like businesswomen and diversify their careers by doing other things. Chances are very slim that a mere model will become a household name today.”
Notable Work:
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, XOXO, and Yves Saint Laurent.
